.1  *  »"%«» ^,^^ 

%  PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


5/^<f^., 


Division 

Section ..  ti'^»i^.^f J:.<..  ..I 

Number :...\^i..X  ..^ 


HOURS  AMONG  THE  GOSPELS 


WAYSIDE  TRUTHS 


FROM   THE 


LIFE   OF   OUE   LORD 


N.   CrBURT,  D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    k    CO. 

1866. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  yeax  1865,  by 

J.   B.    LIPPINCOTT    &   CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Disti-ict  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE 


Two  musical  notes  produce  a  higher  effect  when  sounding  in 
harmony,  than  when  heard  singly  in  succession.  Two  slightly 
different  views  of  the  same  scene,  blended  in  the  stereoscope, 
give  a  single  view  far  more  life-like  than  that  which  either  pre- 
sents when  seen  by  itself. 

Thus  two  separated  portions  of  Divine  truth  are  sometimes 
found  to  be  so  remarkably  related  to  each  other,  that  being 
brought  together,  a  far  more  striking,  if  not  a  wholly  new  im- 
pression is  obtained. 

Such  works  as  Paley's  ^^  Horce  Pmdince''  and  Blunt's  "Un- 
designed Coincidences  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,"  val- 
uable as  they  are  for  the  special  object  of  establishing  the  mi- 
nute truthfulness  of  the  Sacred  Writers,  secure  perhaps  even  a 
higher  result,  in  incidentally  eliciting  the  fuller  and  more  vivid 
meanings  of  those  portions  of  Scripture  with  which  they  deal. 

In  pursuing  the  study  of  the  Gospel  records,  the  author  has, 
from  time  to  time,  noted  such  passages  as  have  been  found  to 
receive  striking  illustration  from  unexpected  sources.  The  chief 
of  these,  with  their  illustrations,  are  herewith  presented.  Some- 
times, as  will  be  seen,  the  illustration  comes  from  outside  the 
Gospel  history.  Often  the  narrative  in  one  of  the  gospels  finds 
its  complement  in  the  parallel  narrative  of  another  of  the  gos- 


4  PREFACE. 

pels.  Occasionallj^  the  immediate  context,  when  well  considered, 
is  found  to  have  an  interpretative  bearing  not  at  first  sight  per- 
ceived. 

The  passages  illustrated  being  of  considerable  number,  and 
coming  from  every  part  of  the  Evangelic  narratives,  and  being 
moreover  here  arranged,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  the  order  of 
historical  occurrence,  the  book  instead  of  proving  to  be  a  mere 
aggregation  of  disconnected  teachings,  may  be  found  to  present 
a  tolerably  complete  outline  of  the  Life  and  Ministry  of  our 
Lord. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  that  the  first  chapter,  substan- 
tially as  here  given,  was  published  some  years  since,  under  the 
author's  initials,  in  one  of  the  religious  magazines. 

Although  the  GTospel  records  are  receiving  elaborate  exposi- 
tion and  defence  from  the  most  distinguished  Sons  of  the  Church, 
it  is  hoped  that  this  humble  efi*ort  will  not  be  regarded  as  either 
wholly  useless  or  presumptuous. 

Cincinnati,  May^  1865. 


7»* 
CONTENTS. 


I. 

PAQB 

The  Visit  of  the  "Wise  Men  j  as  directly  occasioned  by  Daniel's  Prophecy 
of  the  Messiah 9 

II. 
The  Baptism  of  Christ;  as  illustrated  by  His  Transfiguration 16 

in. 

The  Temptation  in  the  "Wilderness  j  as  illustrated  by  Christ's  Rebuke 
of  Peter 21 

rv. 

The  Contempt  of  Nathanael  for  Nazareth,  connected  with  the  fact 
that  he  belonged  to  Cana  of  Galilee 28 

V. 

The  Healing  of  the  Paralytic  and  of  the  Infirm  Man  Compared 32 

VI. 
The  "Woman  who  was  a  Sinner,  and  Christ's  Gracious  Invitation 37 

VII. 

Sudden  Outbreak  of  Pharisaic  Hostility ;  and  its  Immediate  Occasion.    44 

vm. 

Levi's  Feast,  in  Several  Relations ;  especially  Christ's  Representation 
of  Himself  as  the  Bridegroom 50 

1  «  5 


U  CONTENTS. 

IX. 

FAGS 

The  Disciples  unexpectedly  Compelled  to  Embark  and  cross  the  Lake  : 
and  the  Reason  for  it 58 

X. 

Crisis  in  the  History  of  Judas 64 

XL 
The  Person  who  saw  Men  as  Trees  Walking  not  born  blind 70 

xn. 

The  Opening  of  a  New  Era  in  the  Ministry  of  Christ 75 

XIIL 
The  Transfiguration  Occurring  at  Night 84 

XIV. 
The  Transfiguration  Scene  Culminating  in  the  Heavenly  Voice 87 

XV. 

The  Exclamation,  "0  Faithless  and  Perverse  Generation ;"  as  uttered 
soon  after  the  Transfiguration 90 

XVI. 

The  Contentions  of  the  Disciples  among  themselves;  as  always  con- 
nected with  Christ's  Teachings  concerning  His  Death 94 

XVIL 
Conduct  of  the  Unbelieving  Brethren  of  Jesus ;  as  seen  on  Two  Occa- 


sions   100 

xvin. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Good  Shepherd ;  as  connected  with  the  Healing 
of  the  man  bom  blind 106 

XIX. 

The  Request,  "Lord,  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father j"  by 
whom  made,  and  why  refused 110 


CONTENTS.  7 

XX. 

Christ  "Beholding"  the  Young  Ruler;  as  illustrated  by  llis  "turning 
and  looking  on  Peter." 116 

XXI. 

Parable  of  the  Laborers  in  the  Vineyard ;  as  connected  with  Previous 
Teachings 122 

XXII. 
Christ's  Triumphal  Entry  into  Jerusalem :  The  Ass  and  Her  Colt 128 

XXIII. 
The  Miracle  and  the  Parable  of  the  Barren  Fig-Tree 132 

XXIV. 

Christ's  Denunciations  against  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  at  different 
times^  compared 138 

XXV. 

The  Anointing  of  Christ  by  Mary  of  Bethany :  the  Evangelists  com- 
pared   145 

XXVI. 

The  Resolution  of  Judas  to  Betray  his  Lord,  and  its  Immediate  Occa- 


153 


xxvn. 


Christ's  saying,  "  I  am  among  you  as  he  that  Serveth,"  and  His 
Washing  the  Disciples*  Feet 160 

XXVIIL 
Position  of  Judas  at  the  Passover  Table 164 

XXIX. 

The  Agony  in  the  Garden;  as  illustrated  by  the  Temptation  in  the 
Wilderness 172 


0  CONTENTS. 

XXX. 

PAGE 

The  Two  Cries  of  the  People,  "Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David/*  and 
"Away  with  Him,  Crucify  Him." 179 

XXXI. 
Judas  Repenting  at  the  Sight  of  Jesus  Condemned 185 

XXXII. 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and  His  Mission 191 

XXXIII. 
Jesus,  after  his  Resurrection,  appearing  first  to  Mary  Magdalene 197 

XXXIV. 

Christ's  saying  to  Mary  Magdalene,  "  Touch  me  not :  for  I  am  not 
yet  Ascended  to  my  Father." 205 

XXXV. 

The  Incredulity  of  Thomas  j  as  Overcome  in  like  manner  with  that  of 
Nathanael 209 


HOURS  AMONG  THE  GOSPELS. 


I. 

TJie    Visit   of  the    Wise   Men;   as   directly   occasioned   by  DanieVa 
J*rop1iecy  of  the  Messiah. 

Matt.  ii.  1,  2 ;  Daniel  ix.  24-26. 

In  the  opening  of  the  gospel  history,  we  behold  dis- 
tinguished Gentile  strangers  arriving  at  Jerusalem,  and 
uttering  the  remarkable  inquiry,  "  Where  is  he  that  is 
born  king  of  the  Jews?"  Who  were  these  men? 
Whence  came  they?  What  did  they  mean  by  "king 
of  the  Jews?"  And,  above  all,  how  had  they  become 
possessed  of  the  knowledge  that  a  king  of  the  Jews  was 
'  just  now  to  be  born,  of  such  peculiar  dignity  as  to  de- 
mand their  personal  homage  ?* 

«•  The  opinion  of  scholars  on  this  point  is  thus  expressed  by  Ellicott  : 
"  It  has  long  been  a  matter  of  discussion  what  precisely  led  these  Magi  to 
expect  a  birth  so  prefigured.  See  Spanheim,  Duh.  Evang.  Was  it  due  to 
a  carefully  preserved  knowledge  of  the  prophecy  of  Balaam,  an  opinion 
entertained  by  Origen  and  the  majority  of  the  ancient  expositors ;  or  was 
it  due  to  prophecies  uttered  in  their  own  country,  dimly  foreshadowing 
this  divine  mystery?  (See  citations  from  the  Zend-Avesta.)  Perhaps 
the  latter  view  is  the  most  probable,  especially  if  we  associate  it  with  a 
belief,  which  the  sacred  narrative  gives  us  every  reason  for  entertaining, 
(Matt.  ii.  12,)  that  these  faithful  men  received  a  special  illumination," 
•tc.  How  has  it  come  to  pass  that  scholars  have  been  so  intent  on  the 
"dim  foreshadowings"  of  the   Zend-Avesta,  as   to  overlook  the   explicit 

A«  9 


10  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

This  last  question,  as  it  seems  to  us,  has  not  received 
sufficient  comparative  attention.  Biblical  scholars  dwell 
chiefly  on  the  character  of  the  star  which  these  strangers 
allege  that  they  have  seen ;  a  matter  of  comparatively 
small  importance. 

In  attempting  to  answer  this  question,  reference  is 
commonly  made  to  that  expectation  of  a  mighty  Deliverer 
soon  to  arise  from  among  men,  which,  at  the  time  of  our 
Saviour's  birth,  as  history  attests,  was  widely  indulged 
amongst  the  nations.  If  we  ask  how  such  an  expecta- 
tion came  to  exist,  the  reply  is  manifold.  It  may  have 
arisen  partly  from  the  native  conviction  of  the  soul  of  its 
need  of  spiritual  help — that  which  was  desired  to  be,  at 
length  fixing  itself  as  sure  to  be.  It  may  have  arisen 
partly  from  early  tradition — the  most  important  commu- 
nications from  God  to  the  progenitors  of  the  race  having 
been  promises  of  a  Redeemer.  And  it  may  have  arisen 
partly  from  the  predictions  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 
which,  for  some  hundreds  of  years,  had  been  widely  cir- 
culated among  the  learned  of  many  lands. 

This  general  expectation  of  a  Redeemer,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  extraordinary  appearances  in  the  heavens, 
might,  to  some  persons,  seem  sufficient  to  account  for 
these  wise  men  coming  to  Jerusalem  with  the  inquiry 
which  they  proposed. 

But  we  may  look  further  than  this.  The  narrative 
styles  these  persons  "  Wise  men  from  the  East."  May 
we  not  obtain  valuable  hints  from  the  very  form  of  these 

predictions  of  the  prophet  Daniel,  "uttered,"  as  all  the  probabilities  allege, 
in  the  very  country  of  these  Magi.  Some  indeed  make  a  general  reference 
to  the  book  of  Daniel,  but  none,  so  far  as  we  have  seen,  trace  the  exact 
correspondence  between  the  visit  and  question  of  the  wise  men  and  the 
terms  of  Daniel's  prophecy. 


VISIT   OF   THE   WISE    MEN.  11 

expressions  ?  The  region  designated  as  "  the  East,"  is 
of  course  very  indefinite ;  but  it  at  once  occurs  to  us, 
that  the  East,  as  the  birth-place  of  mankind,  would  fur- 
nish the  purest  and  most  vivid  traditions  of  primitive 
times.  It  would  be  in  the  East,  rather  than  the  West, 
that  the  expectation  of  a  Deliverer  soon  to  be  born, 
founded  on  ancient  tradition^  would  be  strongest ;  and 
men  from  the  East,  rather  than  from  the  West,  might 
be  looked  for  in  Jerusalem,  making  the  inquiry  of  these 
vdse  men. 

There  is,  however,  something  noticeable  in  this  very 
expression,  "Wise  men."  It  is  the  translation  of  the 
word  "  magoi."  These  Wise  men  were  3fagians.  This 
appellation  strongly  points  to  Persia,  as  a  narrower  re- 
gion of  "  the  East "  from  which  these  strangers  came. — 
]\Iagian  was  the  designation  of  the  Persian  priesthood 
and  nobility. 

Our  attention  being  fixed  on  Persia,  we  at  once  recol- 
lect the  fact  that  heathenism  was  there  seen  in  its  mildest 
and  most  spiritual  forms.  Also,  from  the  bold  and  full 
tradition  of  the  deluge  which  Persia  furnishes,  w^e  infer 
the  superiority  of  that  coimtry  in  all  traditionary  know- 
ledge. These,  then,  were  the  very  persons  of  all  others 
to  come  to  Jerusalem,  making  the  inquiry  which  they 
made ;  for  even  if  we  were  unable  to  see  where  they 
obtained  such  exact  information  as  led  them  to  just  such 
a  visit  mdjust  such  an  inquiry,  we  might  well  conclude, 
that  possibly,  in  the  most  thoughtful  of  Persian  minds, 
ancient  traditions  of  a  coming  Deliverer  may  have  rip- 
ened for  fulfillment  along  with  the  prophecies  of  God's 
covenant  people,  until,  the  heavens  giving  birth  to  a 


12  HOURS  AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

new  star,  they  were  ready  to  interpret  the  occurrence  as 
a  token  of  the  birth  of  the  Expected  One. 

But  we  need  not  stop  here.  The  question,  how  these 
heathen  sages  became  possessed  of  such  knowledge  as  led 
them  to  make  a  pilgrimage  at  this  time  to  Jerusalem, 
and  to  propose  the  precise  inquiry  which  they  proposed, 
admits  of  an  explicit  and  satisfactory  answer.  And  the 
answer  shows  us  how  remarkably  one  portion  of  God's 
word  confirms  another,  and  how,  by  minute  and  unin- 
tended agreements,  the  whole  Bible  may  be  confirmed 
to  us,  as  a  book  of  perfect  truth.     Let  us  see. 

We  know  that  the  Magians  of  Persia  were  learned 
men — that  they  were  read  in  the  accessible  literature  of 
all  lands.  We  know  that  they  were  held  in  highest 
respect,  as  nobles  of  the  State,  and  as  counsellors  and 
guardians  of  the  king.  This  is  the  familiar  teaching  of 
history. 

Bear  this  in  mind,  and  then  remember  that  the  Jews 
were  seventy  years  captives  in  Babylon,  where  they  had 
their  Scriptures,  and  that  they  were  restored  to  their  own 
country  by  Cyrus,  the  conqueror  of  Babylon  and  founder 
of  the  Persian  Empire,  who  himself  was  familiar  with 
the  Jewish  Scriptures.  And  remember,  especially,  that 
the  prophet  Daniel,  who  alone  of  all  the  prophets  re- 
corded the  exact  time  of  Messiah's  advent,  was  himself  a 
high  civil  officer  under  the  first  Persian  monarchs  in 
Babylon,  and  hence  must  have  been  widely  and  famil- 
iarly conversant  with  the  Magians  of  his  time. 

Remembering  all  tliis,  we  may  ask  the  following  ques- 
tions :  If  the  Jewish  Scriptures  had  such  circulation  in 
Babylon  that  Cyrus  became  acquainted  with  them,  must 
we  not  suppose  that  the  learned  Magians,  his  counsellors 


VISIT    OF   THE    WISE    MEN.  13 

and  guai'dians,  beciiine  even  more  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  them?  And  if  the  Magians  studied  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Jews  generally,  must  we  not  think  that  their 
attention  would  be  specially  directed  to  the  writings  of 
Danidy  their  cotemporary  and  companion,  whose  writings 
constituted  a  part  of  those  sacred  books  ?  And,  if  the 
INIagians  of  that  day  had  special  familiarity  with  the 
writings  of  Daniel,  would  not  the  Magians  of  a  later 
day,  their  successors,  have  those  particular  expectations 
of  the  Coming  One  which  the  writings  of  Daniel  would 
give  ? 

All  this  probable  conjecture  receives  confirmation  from 
the  fact  that  while  Daniel  alone,  of  all  the  prophets,  re- 
cords the  exact  time  of  Messiah's  birth,  he  reckons  the 
time  fi-om  a  date  in  the  civil  history  of  the  Persians.  It 
is  "  from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  (of  Cyrus) 
to  restore  and  build  Jerusalem,"  that  the  weeks  of  Dan- 
iel's prophecy  proceed. 

Now,  examining  that  celebrated  prophecy,  we  find  an 
exact  and  literal  correspondence  between  its  principal 
terms  and  the  several  expressions  of  these  wise  men. 
And  we  find  the  prophecy  to  be  of  the  precise  character 
to  set  such  men  upon  the  making  of  precisely  such  a 
visit  as  Matthew  represents  these  wise  men  actually  mak- 
ing. The  conclusion  seems  irresistible  that  the  expecta- 
tions and  conduct  and  language  of  these  men  were  founded 
directly  upon  that  prophecy. 

All  that  was  needed,  in  their  state  of  mind,  to  send 
them  upon  their  visit,  was  the  suggestion  of  some  visible 
sign.  They  being  astrologers,  and  ever  watching  the 
heavens  for  tokens  of  earthly  occurrences,  no  wonder 
that  when,  at  the  exact  time  mentioned  by  Daniel  as 

2 


14  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

that  of  Messiah's  birth,  they  saw  an  extraordinary  ap- 
pearance in  the  heavens,  they  cried.  It  is  "  his  star.^^"^ 
And  when  Daniel  spoke  of  no  other  place  than  "  the  holy 
city,"  in  connection  with  the  Messiah,  no  wonder  that 
they  came  to  Jerusalem  seeking  him,  and  asking,  "  Where 
is  hef^  When  Daniel  called  the  predicted  One  the 
"  Messiah,"  no  wonder  that  they  so  explained  themselves 
that  Herod  demanded  of  the  assembled  Council  "  where 
Christ  should  be  born."  And  when  Daniel  spoke  of 
Messiah  as  "  the  Prince,"  no  wonder  that  they  brought 
royal  gifts,  and  asked,  "  Where  is  he  that  is  born  king 
of  the  Jews  ?" 

These  w4se  men,  as  just  observed,  were  astrologers. 
They  might  also  be  called  astronomers.  In  their  studies, 
doubtless,  science  and  superstition  mingled.  Chaldean 
Shepherds  made  the  first  recorded  astronomical  observa- 
tions. And  judicial  astrology  took  its  rise  in  the  region 
from  which  these  INIagians  came.  The  very  word  magie, 
looking  so  strongly  to  the  frauds  of  superstition,  has  the 

*  The  Commentators,  with  great  unanimity,  connect  the  star  of  the 
wise  men  with  that  predicted  by  Balaam.  Num.  xxiv.  17.  The  nature 
of  any  legitimate  connection  it  is  difficult  to  discern. 

Supposing  Balaam's  prophecy  to  relate  to  the  Messiah,  are  we  to  think 
that  Christ  came  as  a  star,  only  in  the  way  of  an  extraordinary  celestial 
phenomenon,  to  be  appreciated  by  a  few  heathen  astrologers  ?  Messianic 
prophecies  are  the  perpetual  heritage  of  the  whole  church.  The  Jews  no 
doubt  construed  this  Y)ro^hecj  fignratively  :  they  had  no  thought,  in  con- 
nection with  it,  of  any  literal  star.  And  the  views  of  the  wise  men  con- 
cerning this  prophecy,  had  they  any  knowledge  of  it,  beyond  question 
would  be  adopted  from  the  Jews. 

But  where  is  the  evidence  that  the  Jews  regarded  this  as  a  Messianic 
prophecy?  And  why  are  we  to  give  it  a  Messianic  character?  (See 
Hengstenberg's  Christology.) 

In  any  case,  there  seems  to  be  no  other  connection  between  the  star  of 
the  wise  men  and  that  of  Balaam's  prophecy  than  a  chance  verbal  coin- 
cidence. 


VISIT   OF   THE    WISE    MEN.  15 

same  origiu  as  the  word  INIagian.  Yet  we  lind  that  God 
gave  these  ^f  agians  a  sign  sueh  as  they  would  not  fail  to 
observe  and  improve — a  sign  in  the  lieavens — a  star. 
Behold  here  an  evidence  of  God's  condescendinor  ffood- 
ncss.  He  meets  men  wherever  they  go.  He  suffei-s 
them  to  look  nowhere  for  himself  in  vain.* 

Yet  it  may  be  asked,  Supposing  that  this  sign  in  the 
heavens  fell  in  with  the  supei-stitions  of  astrology,  and 
wedded  itself  to  them,  w^ould  it  not  seem  that  God  had 
here  granted  his  sanction  to  error  ?t  The  words  of  Ne- 
AXDER  are  apt  and  unanswerable.  "If  it  offends  us 
to  find  that  God  has  used  the  errors  of  man  to  lead  him 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  great  truths  of  salvation,  as  if 
thereby  he  had  lent  himself  to  sustain  the  false,  then 
must  we  break  in  pieces  the  chain  of  human  events,  in 
which  the  true  and  the  false,  the  good  and  the  evil,  are 
so  inseparably  linked  that  the  latter  often  serves  for  the 
point  of  transition  to  the  former.  .  .  .  God  condescends 
to  the  platforms  of  men,  in  training  them  for  belief  in 
the  Redeemer,  and  meets  the  aspirations  of  the  truth- 
seeking  soul,  even  in  its  error." 

*■  The  Magi  are  led  by  a  star;  the  fishermen  by  fishes,  to  the  knowledge 
of  Christ.     Bengel.  f  Strauss. 


II. 

The  Baptism  of  Christ ;  as  illustrated  hy  Mis  Transfiguration, 

Matt.  iii.  13-17 ;  Matt.  xvii.  1-5 ;  with  their  parallels. 

The  Baptism  and  the  Transfiguration  have  one  grand 
feature  in  common.  It  is  the  solemn  recognition  from 
heaven,  by  God  the  Father,  of  Jesus  as  His  approved 
Son. 

A  further,  although  less  obvious  correspondence  be- 
tween these  striking  occurrences,  is  seen  in  the  relations 
which  they  respectively  sustain  to  the  public  ministry  of 
Christ.  The  Baptism  stands  at  the  entrance  of  that  mi- 
nistry considered  as  a  whole.  In  it  the  Father,  seemingly 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  Son  in  all  his  appointed 
work,  acknowledges  and  approves  him.  So  the  Transfi- 
guration stands  at  the  entrance  of  that  marked  period 
immediately  preceding  the  death  of  Christ,  for  which  all 
that  had  as  yet  occurred  was  mainly  a  preparation ;  the 
period  in  which  the  special  sufferings  of  our  Lord  were 
held  in  direct  prospect,  were  spoken  of  to  the  disciples,  and 
presently,  in  all  their  bitterness,  were  endured.  As  the 
Baptism  stands  at  the  entrance  of  our  Lord's  ministry 
considered  as  a  whole,  so  the  Transfiguration  stands  at 
the  entrance  of  what  may  be  called  his  passive  ministry. 
As,  in  the  former,  the  Father  gives  in  advance  a  token 
of  approbation  to  his  Son,  adapted  to  encourage  him  in 
the  whole  work  before  him ;  so,  in  the  latter,  when  the 

16 


BAPTISM    AND    TRANSFIGURATION.  17 

Saviour's  miiiistiy  Is  about  to  become  most  trying,  and 
when  his  appointed  suiFerlngs  might  seem  to  betoken  the 
Father's  displeasure,  he  receives  repeated  and  emphatic 
assurance  of  the  Father's  steadfast  favor. 

Not,  however,  to  dwell  on  this,  we  desire  especially  to 
call  attention  to  the  difference  in  the  heavenly  testimony 
given  on  these  two  occasions,  and  to  what  this  difference 
intimates.  This  difference  is  often  overlooked ;  and  the 
failure  to  observe  it  has  helped  to  form  what  must  be 
considered  a  very  erroneous  conception  concerning  the 
Baptism. 

Comparing  the  narratives  of  these  events,  we  shall 
see  that  while,  in  connection  with  the  Transfiguration, 
each  of  the  three  'writers  recording  the  event  is  careful 
to  give,  as  a  part  of  the  solemn  utterance  from  heaven, 
the  injunction,  "hear  ye  him,"  these  writers  uniformly 
omit  any  such  injunction  in  their  accounts  of  the  Baptism. 
At  the  Baptism,  the  heavenly  testimony,  according  to 
Matthew,  was  in  these  words,  "This  is  my  beloved  Son, 
in  whom  I  am  Avell  pleased."  At  the  Transfiguration, 
according  to  the  same  Evangelist,  the  voice  out  of  the 
cloud  uttered  precisely  the  same  words,  with  the  addition 
"hear  ye  him." 

It  is  thus  seen  that,  at  the  Transfiguration,  the  heavenly 
voice  was  directed  in  part  to  the  spectators  of  the  scene — 
to  Peter,  James  and  John.  And  w^e  know,  from  the 
Scriptures  elsewhere,  that  these  spectators  understood  the 
divine  declaration.*  At  the  Baptism,  the  spectators, 
whoever  they  may  have  been,  were  not  addressed  at  all. 

From  this  difference,  it  is  not  difficult  to  infer,  either, 
that  the  Baptism  was  not  witnessed  by  the  multitudes 

*2  Pet.  i.  16-18. 
2  * 


18  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

who  were  attending  John's  ministry,  or,  that  witnessing 
it,  they  were  not  permitted  to  hear  intelligibly  the  heav- 
enly voice.  And  this  inference  we  cannot  but  regard  as 
correct. 

The  impression  so  common  with  casual  readers  of  the 
history,  and  even  with  popular  commentators,  that  the 
sublime  attestation  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  given 
in  connection  with  his  Baptism,  was  directed  to  the  peo- 
ple at  large,  and  was  understood  by  them,  is  scarcely  cre- 
dible.* Had  this  been  the  case,  would  not  the  effect  of 
it  have  been  stated  ?  No  doubt  had  the  people,  eager 
for  the  coming  of  their  Messiah,  been  thus  publicly  as- 
sured from  the  skies  that  their  Messiah  had  come,  and 
had  they  beheld  Jesus  designated  as  such  by  heavenly 
tokens,  they  would  have  become  frantic  with  excitement, 
and  at  once  enthroned  Jesus  as  the  Successor  of  David. f 
And  how  easy,  in  after  years,  had  this  occurrence  been 
of  the  sort  imagined,  for  Jesus  to  have  referred  his  ene- 
mies to  it,  when  they  so  persistently  demanded  of  him 
a  sign  from  heaven.  Yet  the  event  passed  by,  apparently 
without  effect  upon  the  people,  and  is  never  referred  to 
again,  except  by  the  Baptist,  who  avers  that,  in  his  offi- 
cial character,  he  was  permitted  to  witness  the  descent 
upon  Jesus  of  the  Holy  Spirit.J 

The  narrative  speaks  of  the  heavens  being  opened  'Ho 
liim''^ — to  Jesus ;  as  if  the  heavenly  witness  was  given 
mainly  for  his  sake.  In  the  particular  mention  of  the 
Baptist,  as  also  enjoying  the  sight  of  the  descending 
Spirit,  is  it  not  strongly  intimated  that  the  privilege  was 
limited  to  the  Saviour  and  his  Forerunner  ? 

Some  persons  may  imagine,  that  since  the  people  seem 

*  See  Bakxes,  Jacobus,  and  others.  f  John  vL  15.  f  i.  32-34. 


BAPTISM   AND    TRANSFIGURATION.  19 

to  have  been  present  at  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  they  must 
have  seen  what  is  spoken  of  as  visible,  and  licard  what 
is  spoken  of  as  audible.  But,  even  supposing  that  the 
multitudes  were  present,  which  is  not  declared,  and  is 
not  at  all  certain,*  it  is  enough  to  reply  that  here  was  a 
miracle,  and  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  say  where  the  mi- 
racle might  begin  and  where  end,  whether  it  might  not 
extend  to  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  people.  AVhen  Paul 
was  converted,  he  heard  an  articulate  voice  addressing 
him.  His  companions  perceived  only  a  sound  or  noiscf 
When  the  voice  came  to  Jesus  out  of  the  skies,  declaring, 
"  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again,"  those 
that  stood  by  thought  that  it  thundered.J  So  here ; 
whatever  the  people  may  have  seen  or  heard  probably 
had  for  them  no  significance.  For  them,  if  anything 
at  all,  it  was  simply  a  blinding  flash,  as  of  lightning, 
and  a  stunning  noise,  as  of  thunder. 

This  point  is  of  importance,  from  its  relation  to  our  Sa- 
viour's whole  course  of  procedure,  in  his  public  ministry, 
in  communicating  the  truth  that  he  was  the  ^lessiah.  It 
is  remarkable  that  he  never  made  to  the  people  an  ex- 
plicit announcement  of  this  truth.  Farthest  from  it. 
Here  and  there,  privately,  and  to  those  prepared  to  re- 
ceive it,  he  made  the  truth  known, §  but  in  hLs  public 
relations  he  handled  it  with  extreme  caution.  He  per- 
mitted it  to  come  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  only  in 
an  indirect  way  and  in  the  most  gradual  manner,  like 
the  slow  dawning  of  a  great  light.  He  often  charged 
those  who  witnessed  his  most  striking  miracles,  not  to 

*  Tholuck  on  John  v.  36-38.  f  Acts  ix.  1 ;  xxii.  9.  %  Jo^iQ  ^ii-  29. 
g  Johni.  41,  49;  iv.  26. 


20  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

let  theDi  be  known.*     He  would  not  suffer  the  devils  to 
speak,  because  they  knew  that  he  was  the  Christ.f 

Now  this  whole  procedure  was  self-consistent  and  is 
perfectly  intelligible,  apart  from  the  common  conception 
of  the  event  before  us ;  yet  it  becomes  utterly  inexplica- 
ble, if  we  suppose  that,  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  mi- 
nistry, the  truth  of  his  Divine  Sonship  and  Messiahship 
was  flashed  on  the  minds  of  the  whole  nation.  Nothing 
but  explicit  statements  of  Scripture  could  justify  this 
view.  Not  only  are  such  statements  wanting,  but  the 
view  has  no  evidence  of  correctness  whatever. 

»  Matt.  viii.  4;  Mark  v.  43;  Luke  ix.  21.  f  Mark  i.  25,  34. 


III. 

The  Temptation  in  the  Wilderness;  cis  illustrated  by  Christ's  Itebuke 
of  JPeter. 

Matt.  iv.  10  J  xvi.  23.     Also  their  parallels. 

On  two  occasions,  widely  separated,  we  find  our  Sav- 
iour uttering  the  self-same  words  of  stern  reprimand, 
"  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan."*  The  one  of  these  was 
that  of  the  Temptation  in  the  Wilderness.  On  this  oc- 
casion, three  distinct  assaults  upon  the  Saviour  were  made 
by  the  great  Adversary.  The  last  of  these,  it  would 
seem,  was  that  in  which  the  Tempter,  having  taken  the 
Saviour  up  into  a  high  mountain,  showed  him  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  them,  and  ten- 
dered these  to  him  on  condition  that  he  would  fall  down 
and  worship  him.  This  assault  appears  to  have  been 
the  most  determined  and  desperate  on  the  part  of  the 
Tempter,  and  the  most  trying  and  grievous  to  the  Sav- 
iour. Whatever  disguise  the  Adversary  may  have  as- 
sumed, he  was  now  fully  recognized  in  his  proper  char- 
acter, as  the  hideous  Prince  of  wickedness,  and  speedily 
does  the  vehement  rebuke  of  the  Holy  One  put  him  to 
flight.t 

*  The  self-same  in  the  latest  Greek  editions. 

f  We  have  given  above  our  own  impression  concerning  the  actual  order 
of  the  second  and  third  assaults  of  Satan,  following  Matthew's  arrange- 
ment rather  than  that  of  Luke,  The  remarks  on  this  point  of  Westcott, 
**  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Gospels,"  pp.  316,  317,  are  highly  sug- 

21 


22  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

The  other  occasion  of  our  Saviour's  uttering  the  same 
reprimand,  was  not  one  in  which  the  devil  appeared  in 
person.  Only  the  disciples  were  present.  And  the  rep- 
rimand was  directed  to  a  prominent  apostle,  who  had 
just  before  witnessed  that  good  confession  of  Jesus  as  the 
Christ  which  brought  from  the  Master's  lips  the  em- 
phatic commendation,  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar- 
jona."  Yet  the  reprimand,  while  directed  to  Peter,  was 
administered  again  upon  the  great  Adversary.  Peter  is 
not  named,  nor  recognized,  in  the  language  of  the  Sav- 
iour. As  though  the  disciple  were  absent,  and  only  his 
old  enemy  again  confronted  him,  Christ  once  more  ex- 
claims, "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan !" 

This  extraordinary  language,  never  used  at  any  other 
time,  indicates  an  essential  identity  in  the  occasions  which 
called  for  it.  If,  in  the  wilderness,  Jesus  was  tempted  of 
the  devil,  so  was  he  when  "  Peter  took  him,  and  began 
to  rebuke  him,  saying.  Be  it  far  from  thee.  Lord :  this 
shall  not  be  unto  thee."  And  whatever  the  character 
of  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness,  when  the  devil  ten- 
dered the  Saviour  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  their 
glory,  the  same  temptation  was  again  urged,  in  the  re- 
monstrance and  pleading  of  Peter.  Such,  at  least,  is  the 
probable  inference. 

This  being  the  case,  the  one  of  these  occasions  may  be 

gestive.  "  The  representative  points  of  the  temptation,  for  the  narratives 
imply  much  which  they  do  not  contain,  are  given  in  each  case  in  the  order 
which  preserves  a  climax  from  the  particular  position  occupied  by  the 
writer.  .  .  .  The  sequence  is  one  of  idea,  and  not  of  time.  The  incidents 
are  given  wholly  without  any  temporal  connection  in  St.  Luke,  an4  the 
language  of  St.  Matthew  is  more  definite  only  in  appearance.  The  nar- 
rative, indeed,  is  one  which  may  perhaps  help  to  show  the  impossibility 
of  applying  to  things  spiritual  and  eternal  that  'phantom  of  succession/ 
in  the  shadow  of  which  we  are  commonly  forced  to  speak  and  act." 


THE   TEMPTATION    IN   THE    WILDERNESS.  23 

taken  to  illiistratc  the  other;  tlie  clearer  character  of 
the  temptation  in  the  case  of  Peter,  may  be  permitted 
to  throw  light  on  the  character,  and  hence  on  the  cir- 
cumstances, of  the  temptation  as  it  occurred  in  the  wil- 
derness. 

We  need  not  now  trouble  ourselves  with  the  view  of 
some  expositors,  that  the  whole  scene  of  temptation  in 
the  wilderness  was  without  objective  reality,  having  oc- 
curred to  our  Saviour  when  he  was  in  an  extasy  or 
trance,  and  that  it  possesses  only  a  symbolic  significance. 
The  evidences  of  the  reality  of  the  occurrence  are  numer- 
ous and  overwhelming.  But  rejecting  this  view,  the 
question  still  remains,  how  far  the  records  concerning 
this  occurrence  are  to  be  literally  interpreted.  Did  the 
Wicked  One  approach  the  Saviour  in  visible  form,  and 
utter  in  his  ears  an  audible  voice,  and  convey  him' through 
the  air  to  a  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  and  take  him  again 
to  the  summit  of  a  mountain  and  exj^ose  to  his  actual 
view  the  empires  of  the  whole  world?  Or  did  the 
temptation  begin  and  end  in  the  desert,  the  Wicked  One 
being  personally,  though  not  visibly,  present ;  and  exert- 
ing his  full  power  upon  the  Saviour,  yet  not  by  audible 
words  and  visible  scenes,  but  by  the  forcible  suggestion 
of  such  thoughts  and  such  objects  as  he  hoped  would  be 
enticing  ? 

Upon  these  questions,  the  temptation  by  Peter  may 
throw  needed  light.  If  we  adopt  the  literal  view,  we 
must  believe,  for  example,  concerning  the  third  tempta- 
tion in  the  wilderness,  that  the  devil,  having  actually 
rapt  the  Saviour  away  from  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple, 
carried  him  to  the  top  of  a  mountain  from  which  a  view 
was  had  of  the  whole  world.     Here  we  encounter   the 


24  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

difficulty,  that  a  view  of  the  whole  world  from  the  lofti- 
est mountain-summit  is  a  physical  impossibility.  Fur- 
ther, we  must  believe  that  the  Tempter  sought  to  obtain 
from  the  Saviour,  under  the  fascinations  of  visible  earthly 
splendor,  and  in  the  prospect  of  attaining  the  highest 
worldly  grandeur,  an  act  of  outward  personal  homage ; 
for  the  language  of  the  Tempter  is,  "  All  these  things 
will  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me." 
The  idea  that  the  homage  asked  for  was  of  such  Sort 
seems  puerile.  It  has  been  well  said  that  "  no  extraor- 
dinary degree  of  piety  would  have  been  necessary  to 
rebuke  such  a  proposal  as  this." 

Turning  to  the  temptation  which  Peter  occasioned  the 
Master,  we  may  learn  that  this  third  temptation  in  the 
wilderness  was  something  different  from  what  the  literal 
theory  supposes.  It  was  essentially  this  : — a  forcible  sug- 
gestion to  the  mind  of  Jesus,  that  he  should  abandon  his 
intention  of  establishing  his  Messianic  kingdom  in  the 
world  simply  upon  a  spiritual  basis — by  means  of  weari- 
some instruction,  and  self-denying  toils,  and  an  igno- 
minious death ;  and,  instead  of  this,  accept  the  powerful 
aid  of  the  god  of  this  world  in  establishing  that  kingdom 
as  a  universal  empire  on  the  basis  of  the  kingdoms  and 
the  glory  of  the  world. 

Let  us  review  the  narrative  which  exhibits  the  conduct 
of  Peter  and  the  significance  of  his  remonstrance  with 
the  Master.  The  record  in  Matthew  is  as  follows: 
"  From  that  time  forth  began  Jesus  to  show  unto  his 
disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer 
many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests,  and  scribes, 
and  be  killed,  and  be  raised  again  the  third  day."  Our 
Saviour  was  just  entering  upon  a  new  era  in  his  minis- 


THE    TEMPTATION    IN    THE    WILDERNESS.  25 

try,  in  which  his  special  sufferings  and  coming  death 
were  held  in  prominent  view.*  To  help  prepare  his 
disciples  for  receiving  his  instructions  upon  this  subject, 
he  had  just  brought  from  them  the  solemn  avowal  of 
their  faith  in  him  as  the  Messiah.f  His  first  announce- 
ment of  the  great  truth  that  the  Messiah  must  suffer, 
made  in  the  language  just  cited,  startled  the  disciples. 
It  was  both  surprising  and  distasteful.  It  produced,  no 
doubt,  a  sudden  and  profound  revulsion  of  feeling. 
"What!  their  Master  taken  from  them:  his  enemies 
successful  against  him  and  triumphing  in  his  death! 
And  he  consenting  to  it !  It  must  not  be."  Such  were 
their  thoughts.  And  Peter,  ever  more  forward  than  the 
rest,  ventured  to  lead  the  Master  aside,  and  not  only  to 
remonstrate  against  such  teaching,  but  actually  to  reprove 
the  Master  and  protest  against  his  proposed  course.  That 
course,  thought  Peter,  would  be  fatal  to  the  prospects 
both  of  the  Master  and  of  his  disciples.  Instead  of  this, 
Jesus  might  better  proceed  at  once  to  "  restore  again  the 
kingdom  to  Israel." 

And  then  it  was  that  Jesus,  discerning  herein  not 
merely  the  working  of  an  unworthy  feeling  on  the  part 
of  an  imperfect  disciple,  but,  further  than  this,  the  du-ect 
agency  of  the  devil,  who  for  the  time  was  making  use  of 
the  disciple  as  the  vehicle  for  renewing  his  most  mighty 
temptation,  administers  the  stunning  rebuke  already  cited. 
The  prospect  of  his  dying  for  the  life  of  the  world,  of  his 
ushering  in  his  kmgdom  by  the  birth-pangs  of  his  own 
humiliations  even  unto  death — this  was  at  the  moment 
in  the  full  view  o*f  the  Saviour ;  and  the  contemplation 
of  it  w^as  painful  enough  for  his  flesh  without  the  super- 

*  See  Chs.  II.  and  XII.  f  Matt.  xvi.  16. 

.q  B 


26  HOURS   AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

added  and  wicked  suggestions  of  the  Tempter,  that  he 
might  forego  this  in  behalf  of  an  easier  way,  that  he 
might  meet  the  desires  and  expectations  of  his  disciples 
and  of  the  whole  people  in  assuming  the  throne  of  David 
and  setting  up  a  grand  temporal  kingdom ;  so  that  with 
instant  and  vehement  resentment,  he  stops  the  mouth  of 
the  disciple,  and  repels  the  Tempter. 

Viewing  the  third  assault  of  the  Adversary  in  the 
wilderness  in  the  light  of  this  temptation  by  Peter,  and 
learning  thereby  to  interpret  as  figurative  the  language 
concerning  a  personal  homage  to  Satan  on  bended  knees, 
and  concerning  an  actual  sight  of  the  empires  of  the 
world  from  a  mountain-height ;  learning  thereby  to  re- 
gard this  third  onset  of  the  Tempter  as  a  suggestion  to 
the  mind  of  Jesus  that  he  should  forego  the  career  of 
humiliation  opening  before  him,  and  secularize  his  king- 
dom ;  we  can  readily  discern  in  the  proceeding  that  w^hich 
would  have,  even  with  the  Holy  One,  the  character  and 
the  force  of  a  mighty  temptation.* 

In  his  forty  days'  seclusion  in  the  desert,  the  Sav- 
iour had  doubtless  been  meditating  upon  his  great  work, 
about  to  be  undertaken,  of  inaugurating  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Probably  this  work  had  presented  itself  to  his 
mind  in  its  many  discouraging  aspects.  He  well  knew 
the  opposition  he  would  encounter  in  preaching  his  self- 

*  "Looking  at  the  matter,  then,  from  all  sides,  we  may  sum  up  the 
meaning  of  the  temptation  of  Jesus  thus :  In  the  decisive  rejection  of  the 
false  and  the  adoption  of  the  true  idea  of  the  Messiah,  in  the  refusal  of  a 
worldly  kingdom  and  the  choice  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  a  triumph  was 
gained  over  the  power  of  evil  generally,  and  this  achievement  not  only 
evinced  the  capability  of  Jesus  to  found  a  Divine  kmgdom,  but  constituted 
him  for  all  times  the  prototype  of  victory  over  every  species  of  tempta- 
tion." 

Ullmann's  Sinlessness  of  Jesus. 


THE   TEMPTATION   IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  27 

denying  doctrines.  He  well  knew  the  disappointment 
he  would  occasion  the  people,  who  in  their  Messiah  were 
anticipating  a  glorious  temporal  deliverer.  And,  beyond 
doubt,  his  natund  feelings  contemplated  the  prospect  with 
a  painful  shrinking.  This  being  so,  the  Adversary,  in  this 
third  assault,  having  some  undei-standing  of  the  burden 
oppressing  the  mind  of  Jesus,  seeks  by  skillful  suggestion 
to  divert  him  from  his  purpose.  He  endeavors  to  per- 
suade him  to  meet  the  carnal  expectation  of  the  people 
by  allying  himself  with  worldly  power.  He  pictures  to 
the  imagimation  of  Jesus  the  glorious  career  which  would 
at  once  open  to  him,  consenting  thus  to  modify  his  plans. 
And  he  pledges  his  own  powerful  influence  for  the  exal- 
tation of  Jesus,  as  Prince  of  a  universal  world-dominion 
and  Lord  of  all  earthly  grandeur.  But  for  the  Saviour 
to  yield  to  thLs  suggestion,  and  accept  the  aid  of  the  god 
of  this  world,  what  were  it  but  to  become  the  vassal  of 
the  Wicked  One  ?  what  were  it  but  to  do  him  worship  ? 
And  the  bold  assault,  in  which  the  Tempter  seems  to 
have  gathered  and  applied  his  whole  force,  is  promptly 
and  successfully  repelled.  Adapted  to  be  powerful,  the 
temptation  exerts  no  power.  Hurled  with  might,  it  bT:'_ 
rebounds  with  the  greater  violence,  and  with  the  more 
complete  destruction  to  itself,  like  shattered  glass  from 
marble  floor. 

The  prompt  and  indignant  rebuke  of  the  Saviour  sends 
the  Adversary  from  his  presence,  doubtless  in  mortifica- 
tion and  rage. 


IV. 

Ttie  Contetnpt  of  IfatJianael  for  Nazareth,  connected  tvith  the  fact 
that  he  helotu/ed  to  Cana  of  Galilee* 

John  i.  46 ;  xxi.  2. 

When  Philip,  full  of  joy  at  his  recent  acquaintance 
with  JesuSj  makes  the  announcement  to  Nathanael,  "We 
have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and  the  pro- 
phets did  write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  son  of  Joseph," 
Nathanael  exclaims,  "  Can  there  any  good  thing  come  out 
of  Nazareth?" 

The  question  occurs,  why  this  extreme  disparagement 
of  the  village  to  which  our  Saviour  belonged,  by  this 
particular  person? 

It  is  commonly  imagined  that  Nathanael  herein  merely 
exhibits  an  acquiescence  in  the  general  opinion  that  "no 
prophet,"  much  less  "The  Prophet,"  should  arise  out  of 
Galilee,  JSTazareth  being  a  village  of  Galilee.*  It  may 
well  be  doubted,  however,  whether  at  this  time  there  was 
any  such  prevalent  opinion.  Probably  this  opinion  was 
not  advanced  until  Jesus  had  fully  entered  on  his  public 
ministry  and  the  impression  was  becoming  current  that 
he  was  a  mighty  prophet  of  God.  And  it  seems  alto- 
gether natural  to  suppose  that  it  was  then  announced  as 
a  dictum  of  the  Scribes,  and  that  its  promulgation  was 
one  of  the  measures  concerted  by  the  enemies  of  Jesus 

*  John  vii.  52. 
28 


NATIIANAEL'S    contempt   for   NAZARETH.  29 

for  discrctliting  his  divine  c'omnii.s.sioii  and  checking  his 
growing  popularity.*  Besides,  the  language  of  Natha- 
nael  expresses  more  than  a  mere  incredulity  concerning 
Gralilee  being  the  native  country  of  any  prophet.  His 
language  is  that  not  of  incredulity,  but  of  positive  con- 
tempt. It  instances  not  Galilee  but  Nazareth.  It  doubts 
whether  any  good  thing  by  possibility  can  come  out  of 
Nazareth.  And  that  this  contempt  was  felt  for  Nazareth 
rather  than  Gralilee,  seems  further  probable  from  the  fact 
that  Nathanael  belonged  to  Galilee.  As  Alford  observes, 
"It  is  impossible  that  Nathanael,  himself  a  Galilean, 
could  speak  from  any  feeling  of  contempt  for  Galilee 
generally."  And  although  the  w^ord  "Nazarene"  was  by 
and  by  used  contemptuously,  in  connection  with  the 
name  of  our  Saviour,  even  according  to  the  predictions 
referred  to  by  Matthew,  f  Nazareth  being  a  mere  village 
of  outlying  Galilee,  and  being  viewed  in  contrast  with 
the  historic  towns  of  Judea,  and  especially  in  contrast 
with  Jerusalem,  there  seems  to  be  no  good  evidence  that 
among  Galileans  generally  Nazareth  was  held  in  special 
dishonor.  None  of  the  other  apostles  are  at  any  time 
represented  as  asking  any  such  question  as  this  of  Na- 
thanael. 

How  then  came  it  to  pass  that  just  Nathanael,  and 
nobody  else,  should  have  been  prompted  to  ask  this 
question  ? 

The  inquiry  is  of  no  great  importance,  except  as  its 
answer  may  bring  to  view  another  of  those  unintended 
and  minute  evidences  of  truthfulness,  which  abound  in 
these  records.  In  this  instanee,  a  most  natural  and  gra- 
phic touch  is  imparted  to  the  historic  picture,  exhibiting 

*  John  vii.  40-43.  t  ^^att.  ii.  23. 

3  * 


30  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

what  is  universally  recognized  as  the  truth  of  common 
life. 

When  we  reflect  for  a  moment,  do  we  not  see  that  the 
question  of  Nathanael  would  come  most  naturally  from 
one  who  was  familiarly  acquainted  with  the  localities 
about  Nazareth  ?  Who  else  would  be  likely  to  interest 
himself  in  the  comparative  merits  of  I^azareth  and  other 
villages  of  Galilee  ?  And  do  we  not  see  further,  that  if 
Nazareth  would  be  despised  by  any,  it  would  be  by  the 
inhabitants  of  neighboring  and  rival  villages  ?  A  citizen 
of  Capernaum  might  speak  disparagingly  of  the  villages 
of  Galilee  generally,  as  inferior  to  his  own  town,  but  he 
would  not  naturally  depreciate  any  one  of  them  in  any 
marked  manner.  But  the  world  over,  the  people  of  con- 
tiguous towns  indulge  in  feelings  of  foolish  mutual  con- 
tempt, and  vilify  each  other's  locality.  If,  therefore,  we 
should  discover  that  Nathanael  actually  belonged  to  the 
same  part  of  Galilee  with  om'  Saviour,  and  especially  if 
we  should  discover  that  he  belonged  to  a  village  near  to 
Nazareth,  we  should  feel  that  his  question  concerning 
Nazareth  had  the  appearance  of  the  greatest  possible  nat- 
uralness. 

Well,  we  turn  from  the  first  chapter  of  John's  gospel, 
where  Nathanael  is  first  introduced  into  the  history,  and 
where  he  proposes  his  question  concerning  Nazareth,  to 
the  last  chapter,  where  alone  he  again  appears  by  this 
name,  and  we  find  that,  in  the  most  casual  way,  Na- 
thanael is  mentioned  as  belonging:  to  "  Cana  of  Galilee."* 
This  was  the  village  where  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus 
had  friends,  and  where  at,  the  wedding-feast  she  seemed 
at  home.f     Cana  thus  apj)ears  in  the  history  as  a  place 

•*  John  xxi.  2.  f  John  ii.  5. 


NATHANAEL'S   contempt   for   NAZARETH.  31 

probably  not  remote  from  ^N'azareth.  But,  further  than 
this,  Cana  has  been  recently  identified  by  Dr.  Robinson, 
as  only  some  six  or  seven  miles  distant  from  Nazareth. 
"  From  the  Wely  above  Nazareth,  our  friend  Abu  Nazir 
pointed  out  to  us  a  ruin  called  Kana-cl-Jclil,  on  the 
Northern  side  of  the  plain  el-Buttauf,  about  N.  |  E., 
from  Nazareth,  and  not  far  from  three  hours  distant.''* 
This  place,  rather  than  Kefr  Kenna,  only  one  and  a  half 
hours  from  Nazareth,  Robinson,  from  the  identity  of 
names,  as  well  as  from  other  considerations,  accounts  the 
Cana  of  the  gospels. 

Precisely  he  who  asked,  "  Can  there  any  good  thing 
come  out  of  Nazareth  ?"  of  all  others  whose  place  of  resi- 
dence is  given  in  the  history,  was  he  who  lived  nearest 
to  the  village  wdiere  Jesus  was  brought  up,  and  was 
therefore  most  likely  to  ask  just  such  a  question.  Yet 
the  information  needed  to  bring  together  the  elements  of 
probable  truth,  as  w^e  have  seen,  is  furnished  only  in  the 
most  incidental  w^ay. 

It  is  generally  held  by  Biblical  scholars  that  Nathanael 
was  identical  with  the  Apostle  Bartholomew.  And  it 
may  be  worth  w^hile  just  to  mention  here,  as  a  pleasing 
coincidence,  which  does  not  require  exposition  in  a  sep- 
arate chapter,  that  w^hile  Nathanael  is  represented  as  hav- 
ing been  found  and  brought  to  Jesus  by  Philip,  the  two 
apostles,  Philip  and  Bartholomew,  are  inseparable  in  the 
catalogues  given  of  the  twelve  by  the  Evangelists,  and 
w^ere  probably  close  companions  in  their  apostolic  min- 
.istry. 

*  Robinson's  Palestine,  vol.  iii.  pp.  204-5. 


Ihe  Sealing  of  the  Faralytic  and  of  the  Infirm  Man  Compared. 

Mark  ii.  1-12  j  John  v.  1-9. 

The  miracles  of  Christ  were  acts  of  self-revelation. 
In  them  were  exhibited  the  various  attributes  of  the 
God-man.  The  Son  of  God  came  in  the  nature  of  man 
to  perform  the  work  of  Redemption.  His  miracles  were 
a  part  of  his  work.  Hence  they  were  acts  of  redemp- 
tion, manifesting  the  grace  and  the  power  of  the  Saviour, 
and  were  typical  of  the  full  work  in  which  man  is  re- 
deemed unto  God.  This  is  most  evidently  true  of  the 
miracles  of  healing. 

In  two  cases  of  miraculous  healing,  our  Saviour  gave 
the  command,  "  Rise,  take  up  thy  bed  and  walk."  The 
one  was  that  of  the  man  "  sick  of  the  palsy,  which  was 
borne  of  four,"  who  was  let  down  into  our  Lord's  pres- 
ence through  the  uncovered  roof.  This  is  recorded  by 
the  first  three  Evangelists.  The  other  was  that  of  the 
man  by  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  "  which  had  an  infirmity 
thirty  and  eight  years."  This  is  recorded  by  the  Evan- 
gelist John.  According  to  the  Harmonists,  the  latter 
of  these  cures  followed  closely  upon  the  former. 

These  cures,  in  their  principal  features,  were  strikingly 
alike.  In  both,  Jesus  issued  the  same  injunction  to  the 
helpless  invalid,  and  in  both  the  grand  demonstration  of 
the  reality  and  perfection  of  the  cure  was  the  man's  rising 

32 


TUE    PARALYTIC   AND    THE    INFIRM    MAN.  33 

from  the  bed,  which  liad  been  tlie  near  witness  and  sup- 
porting companion  of  his  helplessness,  and  bearing  it  as 
if  in  triumph  away. 

There  is,  however,  a  difference  in  the  accounts  of  tlie 
two  cases,  which,  although  at  first  sight  apparently  ciisual, 
yet  upon  closer  consideration  is  found  to  have  an  instruc- 
tive meaning.  In  the  one  case,  the  narrative  states,  that 
at  the  command  of  Christ,  "  immediately  he  arose,  took 
up  the  bed,  and  went  forth  before  them  all."  In  the 
other  case,  the  language  is,  "  And  immediately  the  man 
was  made  whole,  and  took  up  his  bed  and  walked." 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  the  Paralytic  was  not  cured, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  and  of  course  had  no  evidence  witli- 
in  himself  of  being  cured,  until  he  actually  complied  with 
the  Saviour's  command.  Life  came  into  his  palsied  frame 
and  limbs,  in  the  endeavor  to  rise  and  walk.  But  the 
Infirm  man,  if  we  may  closely  follow  the  record,  was  first 
healed,  even  as  he  lay ;  and  having  some  evidence  of  the 
reality  of  his  cure  already  in  possession,  was  encouraged  to 
try  his  new  strength  in  obeying  the  Saviour's  command, 
thus  receiving  confirmation  of  the  reality  of  his  cure. 

Thus  interpreting  the  records,  we  may,  by  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  full  narrative  in  each  case,  perceive  a  differ- 
ence in  the  circumstances  of  the  two  cures,  admirably  cor- 
responding to  the  difference  in  the  cures  themselves. 

The  Paralytic  belonged  to  Capernaum,  the  Galilean 
home  of  Jesus,  one  of  those  cities  in  which  he  performed 
"  most  of  his  mighty  works."  The  previous  narrative 
shows  that  already  Jesus  had  wrought  in  this  vicinity 
miracles  of  healing,  and  that  just  now  his  ministry  was 
attended  by  enthusiastic  multitudes.  Evidently  the  sick 
man,  and  his  friends   who  brought  him  to   Jesus,  had 


34  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

knowledge  of  these  miracles,  and  had  faith  in  Christ's 
gracious  power.  The  invalid  himself  may  have  been 
oppressed  with  desponding  doubts  concerning  the  willing- 
ness of  Christ  to  heal  one  so  unworthy  as  himself,  but 
these  doubts  must  have  speedily  given  way  under  the  in- 
spiring words  of  the  Master,  "  Son,  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy 
sins  be  forgiven  thee."  (Matthew.)  It  was  not  until 
after  this  indication  of  the  Saviour's  merciful  disposition 
and  divine  authority,  and  not  until  after  the  explicit 
assertion  of  his  authority  against  the  scribes  present  who 
were  disposed  to  question  it ;  it  was  not  indeed  until  after 
he  had  given  distinct  intimation  that  he  was  about  to  heal 
the  Paralytic  by  a  word,  and  expectation,  in  the  whole 
assembly  and  in  the  bosom  of  the  invalid  himself,  was 
roused  to  the  highest  pitch  of  eagerness,  that  Jesus  gave 
the  command,  "  Rise,  take  up  thy  bed  and  walk."  The 
narrative  runs  as  follows :  "  Whether  is  it  easier  to  say  to 
the  sick  of  the  palsy.  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee ;  or  to 
say.  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed  and  walk?  But  that  ye  may 
know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive 
sins,  (he  saith  to  the  sick  of  the  palsy)  I  say  unto  thee. 
Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and  go  thy  way  into,  thine 
house." 

Thus,  in  the  case  of  the  Paralytic,  a  sufficient  basis  for 
active  faith  already  existed,  in  the  full  acquaintance  of 
the  man  with  the  Saviour ;  and  the  word  of  command 
carrying  with  it  the  strong  assurance  that  healing  would 
come  in  the  very  effort  to  obey,  the  man  had  sufficient 
encouragement  to  make  the  efPort,  even  in  advance  of  all 
signs  that  the  cure  had  begun. 

The  Infirm  man,  on  the  other  hand,  belonged  to  Jeru- 
salem.    He  lay  in  one  of  the  porches  of  the  pool  of 


THE    PARALYTIC    AND    THE    INFIRM    MAN.  35 

Bethesda,  "  by  the  sheep-gate."  And  Jesus  liad  been  but 
little  in  the  sacred  city.  He  was  little  known  there. 
This  man  might  possibly  have  heard  of  the  Galilean  pro- 
phet, but  even  if  so,  he  did  not  now  recognize  Jesus  as 
he.  Even  after  his  cure,  he  "  wist  not  who  it  was  "  that 
liad  healed  him.  Thus  there  was  no  basis  for  faith  in 
the  command  of  Christ,  "Rise,  take  up  thy  bed  and 
walk."  Such  a  command,  unattended  by  any  evidence 
of  its  divine  authority,  must  have  seemed  a  mockery,  and 
the  poor  man,  wounded  in  spirit,  would  have  refused  any 
attempted  compliance  with  it.  There  must,  indeed,  have 
been  something  in  the  question  of  Jesus,  and  in  his 
whole  bearing  toward  the  invalid,  adapted  to  win  his  at- 
tention. Yet,  when  the  great  Physician,  drawn  to  that 
place  of  suffering,  as  we  may  suppose,  through  his  un- 
ceasing sympathy  for  stricken  humanity,  and  selecting  the 
person  whose  case  was  probably  most  pitiable  of  all,  and 
whose  spiritual  condition  in  all  likelihood  was  best 
adapted  to  receive  a  saving  blessing  from  the  Redeemer's 
gracious  interposition — when  Jesus  approached  the  poor 
man  with  the  strange  question,  "Wilt  thou  be  made 
whole?"  the  answer  is  not  that  of  kindled  expectation,  as 
though  relief  were  at  hand,  nor  are  the  regards  of  the  man 
fixed  upon  his  questioner,  as  though  he  could  do  him  any 
good.  His  reply  is  that  of  the  long  disappointed  invalid, 
cherishing  only  a  bare  hope  that  at  some  time  the  watei-s 
of  this  pool  may  yet  be  his  cure.  He  says,  "Sir,  I  have  no 
man,  when  the  water  is  troubled,  to  put  me  into  the  pool ; 
but  while  I  am  coming,  another  steppeth  doAVTi  before 
me."  And,  in  immediate  connection  with  this  despond- 
ing reply,  Jesus  bids  him  rise  and  walk. 

^o  wonder,  then,  that  the  record  runs,  first,  "  and  im- 


36  HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

mediately  the  man  was  made  whole,"  and  secondly^  "  and 
took  up  his  bed  and  walked."  The  miracle  w^as  wrought 
before  the  man  attempted  obedience.  In  the  absence  of 
other  means  of  faith,  he  first  had  evidence  of  Christ's 
power  in  himself,  and  acted  upon  that.  He/e/^  the  sud- 
den incoming  of  strength,  the  joyful  tides  of  a  new  life, 
and  herein  recognizing  the  divine  authority  of  him  who 
spoke,  leaped  to  obey  him. 

And  even  thus,  it  may  be  said,  there  are  differences  in 
the  methods  of  grace,  whereby  men,  helpless  in  sin,  are 
brought  to  the  enjoyment  of  spiritual  strength.  He  who 
has  been  educated  amidst  Christian  influences,  has  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  and  has  become 
familiar  by  observation  with  God's  miracle  of  conversion, 
is  commonly  required  to  assume  the  vows  of  the  Christian 
profession,  and  commence  openly  the  Christian  life,  with- 
out any  previous  assurance  of  a  change  of  heart.  Taking 
God  at  his  word,  confiding  in  the  promise  that  strength 
shall  be  equal  to  the  day,  and  actually  undertaking  the 
discharge  of  Christian  duty,  assurance  comes  to  such  an 
one  in  these  very  efforte.  Thus  his  conversion  is  like  the 
healmg  of  the  Paralytic. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  who  being  greatly  ignorant  of 
religious  things  is  called  by  God's  grace  into  the  Chris- 
tian life,  not  unfrequently  has,  at  the  outset,  a  marked 
experience  of  divine  power  in  his  heart.  He  feels  differ- 
ently, and  hence  acts  differently.  His  eyes  are  opened, 
his  ears  are  unstopped,  his  soul  is  melted,  and  he  moves 
forward  under  the  impulses  of  the  new  life  throbbing 
within  him.  Thus  his  conversion  is  like  the  healing  of 
the  Infirm  man. 


VI. 

The  Woman  tvTio  tvas  a  Sinner,  and  CJirist's  Ch'aciotis  Invitation. 

Luke  vii.  36-50 ;  Matt.  xi.  28-30. 

Who  was  this  woman,  and  how  came  she  to  act  in  the 
manner  described  ? 

By  many  persons  it  is  assiuned  that  the  woman  who 
here  anointed  the  feet  of  our  Saviour,  was  none  other 
than  ^Mary  Magdalene.  And  this  woman  being  repre- 
sented as  formerly  a  notoriously  dissolute  person,  "  a  sin- 
ner," this  is  the  character  popularly  ascribed  to  Mary. 
Hence  the  name  "  Magdalen,"  commonly  applied  to  vile 
women  who  have  become  penitent,  and  to  the  institutions 
devoted  to  their  reformation. 

There  is,  however,  no  evidence  that  Mary  Magdalene 
was  such  a  person.  True,  her  name  appears  in  Luke's 
gospel  soon  after  this  scene  of  the  anointing.*  Yet  the 
names  of  other  women  are  given  along  with  hers,  "  Jo- 
anna, the  wife  of  Chuza,"  and  "  Susanna."  And  the 
reason  assigned  for  these  women,  Mary  included,  having 
attached  themselves  to  the  company  of  Christ,  is  not  the 
reason  which  the  Saviour's  gracious  treatment  of  "  the 
sinner  "  would  have  supplied,  but  the  fact  that  they  had 
been  "healed  of  evil  spirits  and  infirmities."  These 
women,  too,  "  ministered  unto  him  of  their  substance ;" 
they  were  women  of  wealth  and  social  position,  w^hich  ill 

*  Luko  viii.  2. 
1  37 


38  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

accords  with  the  supposition  that  any  of  them  had  been 
women  of  the  town. 

It  is  indeed  said  of  Mary  INIagdalene,  just  in  this  place, 
that  out  of  her  "  went  seven  devils ;"  yet  this  does  not 
argue  her  previous  dissolute  character ;  for  possession 
was  more  nearly  allied  to  disease  and  insanity,  than  to 
moral  impurity.  This  may  be  inferred  not  only  from 
general  statements  of  the  gospel  writers,  but  also  from 
specific  cases.  For  example,  the  demoniac  boy,  whom 
the  disciples  could  not  relieve,  had  suffered  a  dreadful 
possession  from  his  very  childhood.*  Of  course,  the 
idea  of  a  previous  dissolute  life  is  here  precluded. 

Is  it  not  time  that  intelligent  readers  of  the  gospels 
had  dismissed  from  their  minds  all  association  of  the 
Magdalene  with  the  depraved  of  her  sex  ? 

But  this  anointing,  recorded  by  Luke,  is  often  con- 
founded with  another,  mentioned  by  the  other  Evangel- 
ists, in  which  Mary  of  Bethany  is  the  actor.f  The  rea- 
sons for  imagining  these  to  be  the  same,  frequently  given, 
are  the  following :  First,  the  close  general  similarity  be- 
tween them ;  Secondly,  the  fact  that,  in  both  instances, 
the  host  is  named  Simon ;  and,  Thirdly,  the  fact  that,  in 
both  instances,  offence  is  taken  at  the  conduct  of  the  woman. 

To  this  it  may  be  replied.  First,  that  in  the  course  of 
the  three  years  of  our  Saviour's  ministry,  some  similar 
events  might  very  naturally  occur.  We  know  that  there 
were  two  similar  miracles  of  feeding  the  multitudes,  and 
two  of  taking  great  draughts  of  fishes,  and  that  on  two 
occasions  the  Pharisees  demanded  of  Christ  a  sign  from 
heaven,  in  both  of  which  he  replied  to  them  in  the  same 
way.     Further,   there  are  important  differences  lA  the 

*  Mark  ix.  21.  f  Matt.  xxvi.  6-13,  and  parallels. 


THE   WOMAN   WHO   WAS   A   SINNER.  39 

two  anointings.  They  differ  in  the  time  and  the  place 
of  their  occurrence ;  the  evidences  all  going  to  show  that 
this,  recorded  by  Luke,  occurred  in  a  city  of  Galilee — 
probably  Capernaum — and  in  the  midst  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  while  that  recorded  by  the  others  occurred  at 
Bethany,  near  the  close  of  his  ministry.  Moreover, 
nothing  can  be  argued  from  the  identity  of  the  names 
of  the  hosts ;  for  Simon  was  one  of  the  most  common 
of  names,  there  being  two  Simons,  for  example,  in  the 
little  company  of  the  Twelve.  Besides,  these  Simons 
are  distinguished  from  each  other,  the  one  being  Simon 
"  the  Pharisee,"  and  the  other  Simon  "  the  leper."  Still 
further,  while,  in  both  instances,  offence  was  taken  at 
the  act  of  anointing,  it  was  by  different  persons  in  the 
two  cases,  here  by  the  Pharisee,  there  by  Christ's  own 
disciples. 

Indeed,  the  idea  of  Christ  being  familiarly  entertained 
by  a  Pharisee  at  Bethany,  on  the  eve  of  his  crucifixion, 
is  preposterous.  Who  can  imagine  that,  when  the  ma- 
lignity of  the  Pharisees  had  been  intensified  to  the  ut- 
most, and  w^as  impatiently  awaiting  its  opportunity  to 
murder  Jesus;  this  malignity,  too,  having  reached  its 
last  degree  of  exasperation  by  the  miracle  of  raising  Laz- 
arus from  the  dead,  our  Saviour  should  have  been  found 
publicly  feasting  Avith  the  Pharisees,  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  of  Jerusalem,  with  Lazarus  as  a 
prominent  fellow-guest  ?  Yet  this  we  must  believe,  if 
we  regard  the  two  accounts  of  the  anointing  as  relating 
to  the  same  occurrence. 

Evidently  the  supper  at  Bethany  was  of  a  simple  sort. 
The  scene  is  domestic ;  the  guests  are  a  few  devoted  dis- 


40  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

cipks ;  the  entertainers  are  friends  of  Jesus.  The  dinner 
at  the  Pharisee's  house  was  different  in  all  these  respects. 

If  this  reasoning  be  conclusive,  we  are  relieved  from 
the  otherwise  necessary  yet  startling  inference,  that  the 
gentle  Mary  of  Bethany  had  been  a  woman  of  infamous 
reputation.* 

The  way  is  now  prepared  for  bringing  together  the 
two  passages  referred  to  at  the  outset.  The  illustration 
which  is  thereby  secured,  is  the  more  deeply  impressive, 
regarding  the  nameless  woman  who  here  exhibits  such 
depth  of  contrition  and  such  tenderness  of  devotion,  as 
not  Mary  Magdalene,  not  ^lary  of  Bethany,  but  as  one 
appearing  now  for  the  first  time  in  the  history,  and  then 
lost  wholly  from  view. 

The  conduct  of  the  woman  does  not  need  to  be  de- 
scribed. The  graphic  language  of  the  Evangelist  sets 
before  our  eyes  a  full  and  vivid  picture.  "  And  behold, 
a  woman  in  the  city,  which  was  a  sinner,  when  she  knew 
that  Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the  Pharisee's  house,  brought 
an  alabaster  box  of  ointment,  and  stood  at  his  feet  behind 
him  weeping,  and  began  to  wash  his  feet  with  tears,  and 
did  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head,  and  kissed  his 
feet,  and  anointed  them  with  the  ointment." 

At  first,  the  Saviour  does  not  seem  to  heed  this  con- 
duct, either  to  approve  or  disapprove  it.  In  silence  he 
permits  the  woman  to  make  her  heart's  offering,  in  her 
chosen  way ;  permits  her  to  satisfy  her  own  sweet  will. 
And  it  is  enough  for  her  that  she  is  um-ebuked.  The 
strong  and  affectionate  desire  to  honor  her  Lord,  will  not 
be  discouraged  by  anything  short  of  positive  prohibition. 

*  The  author  of  the  "  Prince  of  the  House  of  David  "  might  w^ell  have 
spared  himself  a  silly  invention  on  this  point. 


THE   WOMAN   WHO   WAS   A   SINNER.  41 

Prcscntlv,  when  occasion  offers,  Jesus  evinces  his  de- 
lighted approbation.  He  welcomes  all  that  she  has  done, 
as'^loving  evidence  of  her  true  faith.  And  he  gives  her 
an  abundant  reward  for  her  work  of  love,  in  the  assur- 
ance that  her  many  sins  are  all  forgiven,  and  in  his  ben- 
ediction of  peace. 

Now,  in  reading  this  narrative,  we  can  hardly  help 
endeavoring  to  conjecture  the  way  by  which  this  woman 
had  been  brought  to  such  an  acquaintance  with  the  Sav- 
iour, as  led  her  to  act  in  the  manner  described.  She 
must  at  some  time  have  attended  on  his  personal  minis- 
try. And  so  doing,  what  gracious  words  must  she  have 
heard,  what  exhibitions  of  Divine  compassion  witnessed, 
and  what  inspirations  of  blessed  hope  enjoyed,  to  bring 
her  to  his  feet  thus  dissolved  in  penitence  and  love ! 

But  wlim  had  she  thus  been  won  from  the  ways  of  sin, 
and  made  a  true  disciple  ?  Wlien  had  she  been  brought 
to  the  step  of  decision,  and  notwithstanding  all  her  op- 
pressive sense  of  dreadful  guilt,  and  all  her  apprehensions 
that  the  might  and  mercy  of  the  Saviour  might  not  reach 
even  to  her,  ventured  to  think  of  him  as  her  loving  Re- 
deemer? What  was  the  special  occasfo?i— what  the  ex- 
hibition of  Christ's  unlimited  power,  or  the  declaration 
of  his  universal  compassion— which  had  ended  her  weary 
struggles,  swept  away  all  distrust,  and  wrought  the  joyful 
confidence  that  his  salvation  was  hers? 

How  naturally  do  such  questions  arise!  In  frequent 
instances,  similar  questions  can  be  met  only  by  vague 
and  worthless  conjecture.  And  can  these  be  any  better 
met?  We  reply  that  they  can— that  they  admit  of  an 
answer  highly  probable,  and  full  of  delightful  interest. 


4  * 


42  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

Let  tis  see  how  the  answer  is  reached,  and  what  it  actually 
is. 

Immediately  preceding  this  narrative  of  the  anointing 
in  Luke,  we  have  the  interview  with  Jesus  of  the  mes- 
sengers of  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  remarks  of  our 
Saviour  thereby  occasioned.  Looking  now  to  the  elev- 
enth chapter  of  Matthew,  we  find  that  it  is  mainly  occu- 
pied with  the  same  matter.  And  we  find  that  the  dis- 
course of  our  Saviour  there  given,  following  the  interview 
with  the  Baptist's  messengers,  a  discourse  connected  in 
all  its  parts  and  complete  as  a  whole,  winds  up  with  that 
most  tender  of  all  the  entreaties  of  Divine  compassion — 
which  has  therefore  obtained  the  appellation  of  the  Sav- 
iour's "Gracious  Invitation" — "Come  unto  me  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  mil  give  you 
rest."*     Now  Luke,  who  gives  only  a  portion  of  the 

*  Not  only  is  there  a  close  connection  in  thought,  in  all  this  discourse, 
which  some  would  be  ready  to  ascribe  to  the  happy  arrangement  of  the 
Evangelist,  rather  than  to  the  Saviour's  actual  utterance,  but  there  are 
notes  of  time  in  the  transitions  from  one  portion  of  the  discourse  to  an- 
other, which  determine  the  arrangement  as  that  of  the  speaker  rather  than 
the  writer.  Thus  we  have,  at  the  20th  verse,  "Then  began  hej"  and,  at 
the  25th  verse,  "At  that  time  Jesus  answered." 

The  objection  that  portions  of  this  discourse  are  represented  by  Luke  as 
having  been  spoken  at  a  time  subsequent  to  this  (Luke  x.  13-22)  amounts 
to  nothing.  These  reflections  of  Jesus  were  doubtless  frequently  indulged, 
and  might  very  naturally  be  repeatedly  uttered. 

We  find  Alford  writing  thus  :  "  The  whole  chapter  stands  in  such  close 
connection,  one  part  arising  out  of  another,  and  all  pervaded  by  the  same 
great  undertone,  which  sounds  forth  in  vv.  28-30,  that  it  is  quite  impossi- 
ble that  this  should  be  a  collection  of  our  Lord's  sayings  uttered  at  differ- 
ent times."  Thus  also  Stier  :  "What  St.  Matthew  communicates  in  this 
entire  chapter,  is  a  progressive  series  of  sayings,  spoken  in  continuation, 
just  as  they  are  here  connected;  and  forming  one  great  concerted  dis- 
course, gradually  advancing  towards  its  climax,  which  in  vv.  27-30,  gives 
the  most  complete  answer  to  the  question  which  had  been  received." 


THE   WOMAN   WHO   WAS   A   SINNER.  43 

Saviour's  discourse,  omittiuo;  the  Gracious  luvitatiou, 
records  next,  and  as  if  occurring  immediately  upon  tlic 
close  of  this  discourse,  the  entrance  of  Jesus  into  the 
Pharisee's  house,  and  his  anointing  by  this  woman  who 
was  a  sinner.  Thus,  when  we  harmonize  the  narrative, 
the  words  of  the  Gracious  Invitation  are  seen  to  be  the 
last  which  Jesus  publicly  uttered,  before  taking  his  place 
at  the  Pharisee's  table.* 

Does  it  not  hence  appear  in  the  highest  degree  proba- 
ble, that  what  decided  this  woman,  bringing  her  to  full 
and  happy  faith,  was  this  discourse  of  the  Saviour,  and 
especially  its  closing  invitation  of  Divine  mercy;  and 
that  she  went  from  hearing  and  receiving  that  invitation 
into  the  Pharisee's  house,  to  declare,  in  the  affecting 
manner  described,  her  newly  inspired  devotion  ? 

And  thus  w^as  this  poor  woman,  this  outcast  and  deso- 
late one,  the  first,  in  the  long  list  of  the  burdened  and 
broken-hearted,  whom  these  precious  words  have  reached, 
and  rescued  from  despair,  and  brought  to  the  fulness  of 
Divine  hope. 

*  See  Robinson's  Harmouy. 


VII. 

Sudden  Outbreak  of  JPJiarisaic  Sostility ;  and  its  Immediate  Occa- 
sion, 

Matt.  xii.  24-37,  and  parallel  passages. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  features  in  the  gospel  his- 
tory, is  the  gro\yth  of  Pharisaic  hatred  and  opposition, 
corresponding  to  the  growth  of  Christ's  popularity  and 
the  extension  of  his  influence. 

Jerusalem  was  the  stronghold  of  Pharisaism.  Our 
Lord  began  his  formal  public  labors  in  Jerusalem  and 
its  vicinity,  but  owing  to  the  jealousy  of  the  Pharisees 
soon  withdrew  from  Judea  to  remoter  Galilee.* 

Yet,  even  in  Galilee,  he  was  soon  waited  on  and 
watched,  not  only  by  resident  Pharisees,  but  by  those 
delegated  for  the  purpose  and  sent  do^vn  from  Jerusa- 
lem.f  Such  a  delegation  witnessed  the  miracle  here  re- 
corded,— that  of  casting  out  the  devil,  blind  and  dumb, — 
and  led  in  the  ensuing  conversation.^ 

The  hostility  of  the  Pharisees,  before  this  miracle  was 
wrought,  had  become  well  pronounced.  Yet  never  had 
it  made  such  exhibition  of  itself  as  it  now  made.  Here 
was  a  sudden  outburst  of  opposition,  not  indeed  in  any 
form  of  physical  violence,  yet  in  a  form  none  the  less  ex- 
pressive of  malignant  desperation.     It  makes  hot   ana 

*-  John  iv.  3 ;  43-45.  f  Luke  v.  17. 

J  Mark  iii.  22,  compared  with  Matt,  and  Luke. 
44 


OUTBREAK    OF    PHARISAIC    HOSTILITY.  4o 

energetic  effort  for  the  immediate  and  total  destruction 
of  our  Saviour's  influence  over  the  people.  These  Phari- 
sees, having  witnessed  the  amazing  miracle,  in  which  a 
demoniac  was  healed  by  the  power  of  Jesus,  and  being 
unable  to  deny  the  fact  of  a  miracle,  account  for  it  by  de- 
claring that  Jesus  is  in  league  with  Beelzebub,  the  Prince 
of  the  devils.  They  seek  to  overwhelm  him,  by  the  con- 
fident ascription  to  him  of  such  odious  and  diabolic  char- 
acter, as  must  have  caused  all  who  credited  them  to 
shrink  from  him  with  horror.  Their  device  is  itself  char- 
acterized by  diabolic  ingenuity. 

And  as  the  malignant  hatred  of  these  Pharisees  is  thus 
suddenly  roused,  and  is  precipitated  upon  the  unoffending 
and  holy  One,  performing  a  most  gracious  work  of  heal- 
ing, so,  as  we  might  well  have  imagined,  his  spirit  is 
stirred  to  oppose  his  enemies  with  a  vehemence  of  argu- 
ment and  a  solemnity  of  warning,  never  before  exhibited. 
Having  shown  in  a  happy  rejoinder,  that  Satan  cannot 
cast  out  Satan,  and  that  if  he  may  rightly  be  charged  vqth 
having  an  unclean  spirit,  so  may  theii*  OAvn  admired 
exorcists,  he  turns  their  minds  to  the  consequences  of 
their  rejecting  him,  bringing  to  them  as  he  does  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  declares  the  terrible  doom  of  those  who 
blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Ghost.* 

The  question  occurs,  what  was  it  that,  on  this  occasion, 
aroused  the  fierce  opposition  of  the  enemies  of  Jesus? 
Cures  of  demoniacs   had  before  been  wrought  by  the 

*  How  deeply  the  heart  of  Jesus  was  grieved  by  this  vile  charge  of  his 
enemies,  we  might  infer  from  the  way  in  which  he  recalled  and  signalized 
it,  on  the  occasion  of  his  sending  forth  the  Twelve.  "  If  they  have  called 
the  Master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how  much  more  shall  they  call  them 
of  his  household."  Matt.  x.  25. 


46  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

Saviour.  And,  as  the  whole  history  shows,  he  had  re- 
cently performed  other  miracles,  in  great  number  and 
variety,  in  circumstances  of  greater  or  less  publicity.  It 
is  hardly  satisfactory  to  suppose  that  the  mere  perform- 
ance of  an  additional  similar  miracle  should,  of  itself, 
have  occasioned  this  outburst  of  vindictive  passion. 

The  clue  to  an  explanation  completely  satisfactory  is 
given  by  Matthew,  in  a  statement  omitted  by  those  other 
evangelists  who  narrate  the  charge  of  the  Pharisees.  It 
is  the  statement  that,  in  \dew  of  this  miracle,  "  all  the 
people  were  amazed,  and  said.  Is  not  this  the  Son  of 
David  f 

This  quiet  statement  may  be  easily  passed  over,  in  a 
hurried  reading,  mthout  a  thought  of  its  peculiar  signifi- 
cance. "  The  Son  of  David,"  imports  nothing  less  than  the 
long  looked-for  Messiah,  the  mighty  Deliverer  of  Israel. 
And  the  question,  whether  Jesus  is  not  he,  now  eagerly 
and  expectantly  asked,  shows  that  the  multitudes  in  at- 
tendance on  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  and  witnesses  of  the 
miracle  just  wrought,  were  rapidly  coming  to  the  belief 
that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah. 

Not  long  before  this,  as  the  Harmonists  show,  Jesus 
had  raised  to  life  the  son  of  the  widow  of  ISfain.  And  in 
connection  with  that  miracle,  as  we  are  told,  "  there  came 
a  fear  on  all ;  and  they  glorified  God,  saying.  That  a  great 
Prophet  is  risen  up  among  us;  and  that  God  hath  visited 
his  people.  And  this  rumor  of  him  went  forth  through- 
out all  Judea,  and  throughout  all  the  region  round 
about."*  That  miracle  evidently  produced  a  new  im- 
pression, concerning  the  person  who  was  performing  these 
marvellous  works.     He  was  assuredly  God's  own  mighty 

»  Luke  vii.  16,  17. 


OUTBREAK    OF    PHARISAIC   HOSTILITY.  47 

messenger — perhaps  the  Messiah  himself.  And  this  new 
impression  became  widely  prevalent. 

Directly  after  this,  it  would  appear,  John  sent  his 
messengers  to  Jesus,  inquiring  "Art  thou  he  that  should 
come,  or  look  we  for  another?"  Art  thou  indeed  the 
Messiah?  And  the  answer  and  discourse  of  Jesus,  fol- 
lowing upon  this,  must  have  tended  to  confirm  the  popu- 
lar impression  previously  received,  and  to  lead  the  people 
to  think,  even  more  distinctly  than  before,  that  Jesus 
might  be  the  Messiah. 

And  now,  when  a  new  miracle  is  wrought  before  their 
eyes,  in  which,  by  a  single  exertion  of  the  power  of  Jesus, 
a  demon  is  expelled,  the  dumb  is  made  to  speak,  and  the 
blind  to  see,  the  people,  previously  excited  to  eager  ex- 
pectation, can  no  longer  refrain  from  expressing  their 
ardent  hope,  and  they  pass  round  the  earnest  inquiry, 
*'Is  not  this  the  Son  of  David?"  Must  he  not  be,  in 
very  truth,  our  Messiah?  "When  Messias  cometh,  will 
he  do  more  miracles  than  this  man  doeth?"  And  pro- 
bably the  popular  excitement,  rapidly  kindled,  was  just 
ready  to  break  forth  in  mighty  conflagration. 

And  hence  the  vigorous  promptness  of  the  interposi- 
tion of  the  Pharisees.  The  popular  acknowledgment 
of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  would  be  fatal  to  their  power. 
He  would  sweep  away  the  whole  existing  order  of 
things.  An  emergency  has  arisen,  and  they  bestir 
themselves  to  meet  it.  They  rush  to  the  rescue.  They 
stamp  upon  the  kindling  sparks,  and  repress  the  rising 
flames.  Thus  it  is  that  the  narrative  runs,  "  But  when 
the  Pharisees  heard  it " — heard  that  thrilling  question, 
"Is  not  this  the  Son  of  David ?"—"  they  said,"  thus 
and  so,  casting  upon  Jesus  their  vile  imputation. 


48  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

And  see  how  admirably  their  course  meets  the  exi- 
gency. The  people  are  ascribing  to  Jesus  the  most  ex- 
alted character.  They  are  viewing  him  as  the  powerful 
messenger  of  the  Most  High  God.  And  the  Pharisees 
cry,  "  He  is  indeed  great  in  power,  but  not  as  the  ally 
of  the  Lord.  The  mightier  he  is,  the  more  is  he  to 
be  dreaded.  He  casts  out  devils,  because  leagued  with 
the  Prince  of  the  Devils."* 

Thus  we  see  that  just  such  occasion  was  offered  these 
Pharisees,  as  was  required  in  order  that  they  should 
naturally  have  acted  precisely  as  they  did.  And  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  suggest  further,  that  in  all  probability 
the  efforts  of  the  Pharisees  were,  for  a  time  and  to  a 
degree,  successful.  The  minds  of  the  people  wxre  di- 
verted from  their  previous  thoughts,  and  the  subsequent 
history  leads  us  to  think,  that,  under  the  specious  and 
confident  calumnies  of  their  revered  religious  teachers, 
doubts  came  upon  many  concerning  the  character  of 
Jesus.f 

*  In  Matt.  ix.  27-34,  we  have  a  brief  record  concerning  two  miracles  j 
the  first,  of  the  healing  of  two  blind  men  who  followed  him,  crying,  "  Thou 
Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  usj"  the  second,  of  the  dispossession  of  a 
dumb  demoniac,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  multitudes,  and  to  the 
exasperation  of  the  Pharisees,  who  said,  "  He  casteth  out  devils,  through 
the  Prince  of  the  Devils."  These  miracles,  although  presented  in  the 
record  prior  to  the  miracle  under  consideration,  are  commonly  regarded 
by  the  Harmonists  as  having  actually  occurred  after  it,  the  account  of. 
them  being  placed  next  after  that  of  the  raising  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus. 
The  order  as  given  by  Matthew,  is,  however,  followed  by  some.  Lange, 
in  loco,  referring  to  Matt.  ix.  34,  says,  "  The  former  private  accusation, 
that  Jesus  was  in  league  with  Satan,  was  now  publicly  and  boldly  brought 
forward." 

f  It  may  be  seen  that  after  this  the  element  of  admonition  becomes  more 
prominent  in  the  Saviour's  teachings.  He  warns  the  people  against  re- 
jecting himself,  cautions  them  against  the  influence  of  the  Pharisees,  and 


OUTBREAK    Ui"    PHARISAIC    HOSTILITY.  40 

Jt  is  interesting,  moreover,  to  observe,  how,  in  other 
instances,  Pharisiiic  hatred  to  Jesns  exploded,  upon  the 
ascription  to  him  of  the  Messianic  character,  under  this 
same  appellation,  "  Son  of  David." 

On  the  occasion  of  his  triumphal  entry  into  Je- 
rusalem, when  the  people  were  bestowing  this  title 
upon  him  in  their  llosannas,  we  read  that  "  some  of 
the  Pharisees  from  among  the  multitude  said  unto  him, 
Master,  rebuke  thy  disciples."  And  shortly  after, 
when,  in  the  temple,  the  children  took  up  the  cry, 
"  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,"  the  record  is  that  the 
chief  priests  and  scribes  "  were  sore  displeased,  and  said 
unto  him,  Hearest  thou  what  these  say  ?" 

Thus  we  have  a  glimpse  of  Pharisaic  hostility,  when 
Jesus  was  in  the  midst  of  his  Galilean  ministry.  This 
opposition  was  afterward  still  more  fully  organized, 
and  made  still  more  formidable.  The  subsequent  his- 
tory shows  the  Saviour  in  perpetual  view  of  it,  and  in 
frequent  conflict  with  it.  For  a  long  time  he  completely 
baffles  it.  At  last,  his  active  ministry  having  been  ac- 
complished, and  his  hour  fully  come,  a  disciple  betrays 
him  to  these  enemies,  and  he  yields  himself  to  their 
murderous  will,  in  the  exclamation,  "  Now  is  your  hour 
and  the  power  of  darkness." 

denounces  the  Pharisees  themselves.  Also,  when  our  Saviour  afterward 
asked  his  disciples,  "  Who  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  am?' 
(Matt.  xvi.  13,)  amidst  the  great  variety  of  opinions  stated  in  reply,  as 
held  by  the  people,  nothing  is  said  of  the  opinion  being  entertained  by 
any  that  he  was  the  Messiah. 
5 


VIII. 

JLevVs  Feast,  in  several  relations;  especially  Chi^ist's  Mepresentation 
of  Himself  as  the  Uridegroom. 

Matt.  ix.  15,  and  parallels ;  also  John  iii.  29. 

A  STUDY  of  the  simple  narrative  of  the  "reception"* 
given  to  the  Saviour  by  Levi,  (whom  we  regard  as 
identical  with  Matthew,)  where  the  Master  ate  with 
publicans  and  sinners,  shows  this  portion  of  the  history, 
in  the  different  parts  of  it,  linked  in  with  the  history 
elsewhere,  in  a  very  remarkable  manner.  No  inventor 
of  history  has  been  equal  to  the  work  of  producing  a 
narrative  so  vividly  natural  as  this,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  so  inserting  it  into  a  body  of  history,  as  to  give 
it  living  relations  to  every  portion.  This  brief  section 
is  a  tree  which  sends  its  roots  deep  and  wide  into  the 
whole  soil  of  the  evangelic  narratives. 

We  may  only  glance  at  a  few  of  the  instances  which 
illustrate  this,  reserving  special  remark  for  the  repre- 
sentation above  announced  of  Christ  as  the  Bridegroom. 

In  the  first  place,  as  has  frequently  been  observed, 
we  have  an  evidence  of  naturalness  in  the  fact  that 
wdiile  it  is  Matthew  who  gives  the  feast,  and  while 
Mark  informs  us  that  the  feast  was  given  at  Matthew's 
house,  and  while  Luke  declares  that  it  was  "  a  great 
feast,"  made  at  Matthew's  "  own  house,"  Matthew  him- 

*  Luke. 
60 


Levi's  feast.  r>l 

self,  in  his  account  of  it,  modestly  conceals  the  fact  tliat 
it  was  a  feast,  and  that  it  was  given  by  himself  and  at 
his  own  house,  simply  saying,  "  And  it  came  to  pass, 
as  Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the  house." 

Again :  On  this  occasion,  Jesus  mingles  with  outcasts 
from  Jewish  society,  doing  so  for  their  spiritual  benefit, 
going  among  them  as  a  physician  among  the  sick. 
Evidently  from  this,  the  Saviour  regarded"  the  publicans 
and  their  companions  as  most  hopeful  subjects  of  his 
ministry.  And  how  exactly  and  remarkably  docs  this 
judgment  of  the  Saviour  coincide  with  the  intimations 
of  the  history  given  elsewhere.  Thus  we  find  the  pub- 
licans frequenting  John's  baptism :  "  Then  came  also 
publicans  to  be  baptized,  and  said  unto  him,  Master, 
what  shall  we  do?" "^  Also  we  find  that  the  reception 
of  John's  ministry  by  the  publicans  was  of  so  marked 
and  suitable  a  sort,  as  to  be  particularly  mentioned  in 
the  subsequent  history.  In  connection  with  Christ's 
encomium  on  the  Baptist,  it  is  said  that  "  all  the  people 
that  heard  him,  and  the  publicans,  justified  God,  being 
baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John."t  And  far  on  in 
the  history,  at  a  time  long  subsequent  to  IMatthew's 
feast,  we  hear  our  Saviour  addressing  the  chiefs  of  tlie 
nation  in  these  emphatic  words,  "  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  that  the  publicans  and  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom 
of  God  before  you."J 

The  facts  on  this  subject,  disclosed  in  the  most  casual 
way  at  different  times,  yet  exactly  agreeing  with  one 
another,  are  these:  First,  By  the  Baptist's  ministry, 
the  publicans  and  their  associates  had  been  brought  into 
a  condition  to  make  Christ's  labors  among  them  most 

»Lukeiii.  12.  t  Luke  vii.  29.  J  Matt.  xxi.  31. 


52  HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

hopeful.  IN^ext,  one  well-knoAvn  publican  soon  became 
an  apostlcj  and  Christ,  by  his  agency,  comes  into  near 
contact  with  the  whole  class  of  his  fellows,  preaching  to 
them  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  lastly,  the  members 
of  this  class  are  found  entering  the  ranks  of  Christ's 
followers,  when  others  were  steadily  refusing  disciple- 
ship. 

Again:  In  immediate  connection  with  this  feast,  a 
deputation  waited  on  our  Lord,  proposing  to  him  an  im- 
portant question.  From  Luke's  account,  we  should 
have  inferred  that  this  dejDutation  consisted  only  of 
Scribes  and  Pharisees ;  for  Luke,  having  spoken  of  these 
before,  continues  his  narrative  as  follows,  "And  they 
said  unto  him."  From  Matthew  we  should  have  in- 
ferred that  the  deputation  consisted  only  of  certain 
adherents  of  the  Baptist;  for  Matthew's  language  is, 
"Then  came  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  saying,"  etc. 
The  apparent  discrepancy,  which  in  other  similar  in- 
stances can  commonly  be  reconciled  by  reasonable  con- 
jecture, is  here  reconciled  by  Mark's  statement,  that 
"the  disciples  of  John  and  of  the  Pharisees"  "come 
and  say  unto  him."  These  two  parties  unite  in  their 
mission,  having  alike  been  accustomed  to  fast,  their 
question  relating  mainly  to  fasting. 

Now  how  natural  that  the  inquiry,  "Why  do  the 
disciples  of  John  and  of  the  Pharisees  fast,  but  thy  dis- 
ciples fast  not?"  should  have  been  made  in  connection 
with  ?i  feast;  how  true  is  the  information  her^  given  to 
what  we  know  elsewhere  of  John's  ascetic  character; 
and  how  exactly  was  the  contrast  hereby  presented  be- 
tween the  conduct  of  John  and  of  Christ,  in  the  malig- 
nant view  taken  of  it  by  the  Pharisees,  expressed  by 


LEVI  S   FEAST.  hli 

the  Saviour,  wlieii  lie  sakl,  ''For  John  the  Baptist  came 
neither  eating  broad  nor  drinkino-  wine,  and  ye  say,  He 
hath  a  devil.  The  Son  of  man  is  come  eating  and 
drinking,  and  ye  say:  Behold  a  gluttonous  man  and  a 
wine-bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners."* 

Again:  In  Luke's  account  of  the  question  of  this 
deputation,  we  find  proposed  not  only  the  matter  of 
fasting,  but  also  of  praying.  Luke  writes,  "Why  do 
the  disciples  of  John  fast  often,  and  make  prayers  f 
From  this  it  is  evident,  that  the  Baptist  prescribed  rigid 
rules  not  only  concerning  fasting,  but  also  concerning 
praying.  It  seems  natural  to  infer  that  he  gave  them 
some  formularies  of  prayer.  And  how  exactly,  yet 
how  wdiolly  incidentally,  is  this  inference  established 
by  the  direct  narrative  elsewhere.  Thus  it  is  said, 
"And  it  came  to  pass  that  as  he  w^as  praying  in  a  cer- 
tain place,  when  he  ceased,  one  of  his  disciples  said  unto 
him,  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught  his  dis- 
cijylesJ^'f  And  it  was  on  this  occasion  that,  for  the 
second  time,  the  Master  gave  that  formulary  commonly 
knoAvn  as  "The  Lord's  Prayer.":|; 

-••Luke  vii.  33,  34.     f  Luke  xi.  1. 

J  We  have  omitted  to  compare  this  instance  in  which  our  Saviour  ate 
with  publicans  and  sinners,  with  that  in  which  he  became  the  guest  of 
Zaccheus  the  publican,  or  as  his  enemies  phrased  it,  "guest  with  a  man 
that  is  a  sinner."  (Luke  xix.  2-10.)  The  comparison  will  be  found  in- 
structive. 

Also,  we  have  not  called  attention  to  the  saying  of  Christ,  quoted  from 
the  Old  Testament,  "  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice,"  applied  here, 
and  also  on  another  occasion.  (Matthew  xii.  7.)  It  may  be  seen  that  the 
saying  has  an  application  equally  apt  in  the  two  instances.  Also,  regard- 
ing Levi's  Feast  as  having  occurred  after  the  plucking  of  the  ears  of  corn 
on  the  Sabbath,  as  the  Harmonists  show  to  have  been  probable,  we 
perceive  the  reason  of  Christ's  greater  severity  of  rebuke,  when  now 
5  « 


54  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

We  come  now  to  our  Saviour's  reply  to  the  question 
of  this  deputation,  in  which  is  found  the  figure  of  the 
bridegroom.  He  justifies  the  absence  of  fasting,  in  the 
case  of  his  disciples,  on  the  ground  that  the  present  is 
with  them  a  time  of  joy.  The  general  teaching  is,  that 
fasting  may  not  properly  be  observed  for  its  own  sake, 
and  without  regard  to  seasons  and  circumstances.  Fast- 
ing is  suitable  for  the  time  of  mourning,  and  is  becom- 
ing to  the  disciples  of  Christ  whenever  he  is  not  joy- 
fully manifest  to  them ;  but  fasting  in  circumstances  of 
joy  is  incongruous  and  undesirable. 

This  teaching  our  Saviour  clothes  in  figurative  lan- 
guage. He  asks,  "Can  the  children  of  the  bride- 
chamber" — the  near  attendants  of  the  bridegroom — can 
they  "mourn,  as  long  as  the  bridegroom  is  with  them?" 
— while  the  marriage  festivities  continue?  "But  the 
days  will  come,  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken 
from  them,  and  then  shall  they  fast."  This  figure  was, 
of  course,  perfectly  intelligible  and  highly  forcible,  in 
itself  considered;  weddings,  by  universal  agreement, 
being  accounted  and  celebrated  as  joyful  occasions. 
And  the  Saviour's  language  affords  a  complete  and  sat- 
isfactory reply  to  the  immediate  question  of  both  John's 
disciples  and  the  Pharisees  concerning  fasting.  Yet, 
when  we  bring  into  connection  with  this  passage  that 
found  in  John  iii.  29,  and  regard  our  Saviour  as  now 
tacitly  referring  to  that  passage,  in  his  use  of  the  figure 
of  the  bridegroom,  his  reply  becomes,  for  the  adherents 
of  John,  not  only  far  more  forcible,  but  far  more  widely 

making  this,  quotation.  His  enemies  had  been  sloio  to  learn  the  lesson 
which  he  had  once  before  given  them.  And  he  ^Yill  have  them  now  "  go" 
instantly,  "and  learn  what  that  meaneth."' 


LEVI  S    FEAST.  bb 

reaching.  This  point,  we  think,  dericrves  a  ciireful  ex- 
amination. 

The  Baptist's  disciples,  on  the  occasion  referred  to, 
had  been  discnssing  with  the  Jews  some  questions  con- 
cerning purifications.*  Just  as  here,  they  were  troubled 
about  the  outward  rites  of  religion.  And  evidently 
their  discussion  with  the  Jews  had  soiuethino:  to  do 
with  the  right  of  Christ's  disciples  to  baptize,  which 
the  latter  were  now  doing;  for  to  this  they  make  dis- 
tinct reference.  Alarmed  at  the  growing  popularity  of 
Jesus,  and  the  corresponding  decline  of  the  cause  of 
their  own  Master,  they  come  to  John  with  the  com- 
plaint, "  Rabbi,  he  that  was  with  thee  beyond  J  ordan, 
to  whom  thou  barest  witness,  behold,  the  same  bap- 
tizeth,  and  all  men  come  to  him."  And  the  Baptist,  in 
reply,  nobly  avowed  that  this  state  of  things  was  every 
way  suitable.  He  reasserts  his  own  humble  character, 
as  the  mere  harbinger  of  the  Messiah.  He  ascribes  to 
Jesus  a  character  infinitely  superior  to  his  own.  Jesus 
has  come  from  above,  and  is  above  all,  while  he  is  only 
of  the  earth,  and  speaks  of  the  earth.  And  as  Jesus  is 
infinitely  superior  to  him  in  character  and  authority,  it 
is  fitting  that  the  ministry  of  Christ  should  engage 
supreme  attention,  and  that  his  own  ministry  should  be 
disregarded  and  forsaken,  for  "He  must  increase,  but  I 
must  decrease." 

It  is  in  the  midst  of  such  statements  as  these,  that 
the  Baptist  introduces  the  figure  of  the  Bridegroom, 
applying  it  to  Jesus  and  himself.  "  He  that  hath  the 
bride,  is  the  bridegroom ;  but  the  friend  of  the  bride- 
groom, which  standethand  heareth  him,  rejoieeth  greatly 

*"  See  John  iii.  25-34. 


5Q  HOURS    AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

because  of  the  bridegroom's  voice;  this  my  joy  there- 
fore is  fulfilled." 

When,  then,  John's  disciples  come  to  Jesus  with  a 
question  about  rites  and  forms,  dissatisfied  that  Jesus 
does  not  insist  on  the  same  outward  observances  which 
their  Master  had  required,  being  thus  disposed  to 
adhere  to  John  as  against  Jesus;  and  when,  in  reply  to 
them,  Jesus  uses  the  same  figure  of  speech  which  had 
afforded  the  central  and  governing  thought  in  that  dis- 
course of  the  Baptist  in  which  he  had  settled  these 
matters  for  his  disciples ;  can  we  help  thinking  that  the 
Saviour  adopted  the  figure — intended  the  coincidence — 
and  meant  to  bring  the  authority  of  the  Baptist  to  bear 
upon  his  dissatisfied  disciples  ? 

Thus  Christ  seems  to  say  to  them,  "Your  own  Mas- 
ter taught  you  that  I  am  the  bridegroom,  to  stand  in 
whose  presence  is  a  joy.  If  this  be  so,  can  my  dis- 
ciples, children  of  the  bridechamber,  living  in  my  joy- 
ful presence,  do  otherwise  than  rejoice?  And,  further, 
why  do  you  not  acquiesce  in  my  authority,  even 
though  my  rules  of  discipline  be  different  from  those  of 
John,  when  he  taught  you  that  he  was  only  my  servant, 
and  that  my  authority  was  law  to  himself?  And  still 
further,  why  adhere  to  John  as  against  me,  placing  your- 
selves now  in  the  company  of  opposing  Pharisees,  when 
your  Master  so  plainly  taught  you  that  his  ministry  was 
only  intended  to  usher  in  mine,  and  that  none  could 
properly  join  themselves  to  him,  except  for  the  end  of 
becoming  my  disciples?" 

Thus  bringing  these  two  passages  together,  our  Sa- 
viour's language,  in  the  instance  before  us,  is  clothed 
with  a  far  wider  and  fuller  meaning.     And  that  our 


CHRIST    THE    BRIDEGROOM.  57 

Saviour  intended  his  saying  to  be  viewed  in  tlie  light 
of  that  of  his  Forerunner,  seems  evident  from  the  exact 
harmony  subsisting  between  them,  at  so  many  points, 
and  from  the  fitness  of  their  concurrence  to  his  purpose. 
Yet  the  two  are  not  brouglit  together  by  the  Evange- 
lists. The  coincidence  seems  to  have  been  on  their  part 
undesigned. 


C* 


IX. 

The  lyisciples   unexpectedly    cotnpeUed   to    Embark    and    Cross   the 
JOake:  and  the  Heason  for  it. 

Matt.  xiv.  22.     John  vi.  14,  15. 

The  Apostles  had  returned  from  their  trial  mission, 
and  made  report  concerning  it  to  the  Master.  Upon 
his  proposition,  they  took  ship  with  him  for  the  farther 
side  of  the  sea  of  Galilee,  to  avoid  the  multitudes,  and 
secure  rest  and  leisure,  at  least  sufficient  for  an  undis- 
turbed meal.  "And  the  Apostles  gathered  themselves 
together  unto  Jesus,  and  told  him  all  things,  both  what 
they  had  done  and  what  they  had  taught.  And  he  said 
unto  them,  Come  ye  yourselves  apart  into  a  desert  place, 
and  rest  a  while :  for  there  were  many  coming  and  going, 
and  they  had  no  leisure  so  much  as  to  eat."* 

With  this  movement,  the  intelligence  just  received, 
of  the  beheading  of  John  the  Baptist,  also  had  some- 
thing to  do.f 

The  multitudes,  however,  anticipated  this  movement, 
and  anxious  to  continue  in  the  Saviour's  company,  they 
made  their  way  by  land  around  the  head  of  the  lake, 
and  were  ready  to  meet  him  when  he  disembarked. 
Jesus  compassionately  renews  among  them  his  ministry, 
both  of  preaching  and  of  healing  their  sick,  and,  doubt- 
less, the  previous  admiration  for  him  suffers  no  abate- 

»  Mark  vi.  30,  31.  f  Matt.  xiv.  13. 

58 


THE    DISCIPLES   THWARTED. 


59 


ment,  but  corrcspoiuling  increase.  These  multitudes,  con- 
sisting largely  of  people  from  the  country,  now  on  their 
way  to  the  passover,  were  probably  less  influenced  by 
the  hostile  Pharisees,  and  were  more  ready  to  yield 
their  tribute  of  praise  to  Jesus,  than  were  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Capernaum.* 

As  the  day  wears  away,  and  the  necessity  for  some- 
thing to  eat  becomes  pressing,  Jesus  performs  that  as- 
tounding miracle,  in  which  five  loaves  and  two  fishes 
are  multiplied  into  sufficient  food  for  the  many  thou- 
sands. 

Immediately  after  this,  we  find  that  Jesus,  instead  of 
withdraw^ing  from  the  multitudes  with  his  disciples,  in 
order  that  they  may  quietly  remain  together  in  that  re- 
tired place,  according  to  their  intention  in  coming  there, 

instead  of  this,  compels  his  disciples  to  take  again  to 

their  vessel  and  return  across  the  lake,  while  he  re- 
mains to  dismiss  the  multitudes.  (Matt,  and  Mark.) 

This,  even  upon  the  most  casual  view,  seems  strange; 
yet,  when  we  examine  the  language  of  the  record,  it  is 
still  more  surprising.  Both  writers  use  the  same  words. 
They  say  that  "straightway,''  he  ''constrained''  his  dis- 
ciples to  get  into  the  ship.  His  act  was  prompt  and 
authoritative.  It  compelled  a  reluctant  obedience. 
Evidently  a  crisis  of  some  sort'  had  suddenly  arisen. 
Evidently  the  disciples  were  now  involved  in  some 
matter  or  movement  unwelcome  to  the  Master.  Evi- 
dently they  were  so  much  in  earnest  in  it,  and  so  de- 
termined upon  it,  that  only  the  most  decisive  measures 
on  his  part  were  adequate  to  suppress  it. 

But  where  else  are  any  intimations  of  such  a  crisis 

■^  John  vi.  4.     *^ee  also  page  47. 


60  HOURS   AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

having  come,  or  of  anything  unusual  liaving  occurred 
involving  the  disciples  ?  No  such  intimations  are  found 
elsewhere  in  the  two  gospels  quoted.  And  none  are  to 
be  found,  so  far  as  we  know,  anywhere  else,  save  in  the 
parallel  account  in  John's  gospel.  That  account  does 
not,  indeed,  say  a  word  concerning  Christ's  compelling 
his  disciples  to  leave  the  place.  The  disciples  are  not 
■  so  much  as  mentioned.  Yet  John's  account  of  what  oc- 
curred immediately  after  the  miracle,  is  found  to  su2:)ple- 
ment  that  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  the  two  together 
furnish  the  materials  with  which  to  reproduce  an  extra- 
ordinary scene,  otherwise  not  dreamed  of,  enacted  just 
at  that  time,  on  the  banks  of  the  sea  of  Galilee. 

We  cannot  but  think  that  the  effect  of  such  a  miracle 
as  that  of  feeding  the  five  thousand  men,  not  only  wit- 
nessed, but  actually  participated  in,  by  those  w^ho  were 
already  aroused  to  high  enthusiasm,  would  be  well  nigh 
overwhelming.  And  the  statement  of  John,  although 
very  simple,  is  immensely  significant.  He  whites, 
"  Then  those  men,  when  they  had  seen  the  miracle  that 
Jesus  did,  said,  This  is  of  a  truth  that  Pro^^het  that 
should  come  into  the  world."  They  settled  it  in  their 
minds,  and  proclaimed  it  to  one  another,  that  Jesus  was 
the  long-predicted  prophet  like  unto  Moses.  Diseases 
have  fled  at  his  touch,  and  now  bread  for  thousands  has 
issued  from  his  creative  hands,  and  herein  they  see  God 
visiting  his  people  and  removing  from  them  the  curse. 
And  if  Jesus  shall  have  sway,  there  will  be  no  more 
sickness,  no  more  poverty,  no  more  toil ;  all  want  and 
woe  will  disappear.  Probably  they  think  that  if  he  be 
indeed  "  that  Prophet,"  he  must  be  the  promised  "  Son 
of  David,"  and  hence  their  desires  seem  to  them  to  con- 


THE    D1SCIP1.es    THWARTED.        -  <'>t 

spire  with  God's  purposes,  when  they  cry,  "  Come,  let 
us  make  him  a  Jchig,  and  join  ourselves  to  him  as  his 
steadfast  and  happy  subjects,  and  receive  the  blessings 
of  his  reign."  For,  as  John  further  informs  us,  the 
people  were  ready  actually  to  enthrone  Jesus,  and  would 
have  used  the  most  energetic  means  to  accomplish  their 
purpose,  had  he  not  thwarted  them.  John  writes, 
"  ^yhen  Jesus  therefore,  perceived  that  they  would  come 
and  take  him  by  force,  to  make  him  a  king,  he  departed 
ati'ain  into  a  mountain  himself  alone."* 

Thus,  then,  John's  gospel  shows  the  people  in  a  state 
of  intense  excitement,  just  ready  to  enthrone  the  Saviour, 
and  the  Saviour  watching  the  unwelcome  movement  and 
taking  measures  to  thwart  it ;  while  :Matthew  and  Mark 
show  us  the  disciples  suddenly  compelled  by  the  Master 
to  embark  upon  their  vessel,  and  quit  the  scene  of  the 
miracle  and  the  multitudes. 

It  needs  no  great  effort  of  the  imagination  to  combine 
these  representations.  We  know  well  enough  that  the 
disciples  could  not  have  been  indifferent  spectators  of 
what  was  going  on  among  the  people.  We  know  well 
enough  that  they  would  be  little  likely  to  use  their  influ- 
ence in  quelling  the  excitement  and  restraining  the  pro- 
posed movement.  The  narratives  elsewhere  give  us 
abundant  evidence  of  the  worldly  views  of  the  disciples 
concerning  the  Messiah  and  his  kingdom.  They  could 
not  brook  the  thought  that  the  Master  should  realize  his 
predicted  character  of  a  suffering  Saviour.f     They  were 

■»•  The  supposition  is  not  improbable  that  as  the  multitude  were  on  the 
way  to  the  passover,  they  intended  to  conduct  Jesus  in  triumph  to  Jcru- 
salem,  and  enthrone  him  there. 

t  See  Ch.  III.  p.  21. 
6 


62  -     HOURS    AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

eager  for  positions  of  worldly  honor  in  the  coming  king- 
dom."^ Even  after  the  Eesurrection,  and  just  before  the 
Ascension,  they  hoped  that  Jesus  would  even  then  as- 
sume the  throne  of  David  and  restore  the  power  of  the 
Jewish  nation. t 

Is  it  not,  indeed,  in  the  highest  degree  probable,  that 
now  the  disciples  fully  shared  the  feelings  of  the  people  ? 
May  we  not  think  that,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  people, 
they  headed  the  movement  in  hand  ?  Were  they  not 
the  ringleaders  in  this  project  of  enthroning  their  Mas- 
ter ;  a  project  intended  to  honor  him,  yet  wholly  mis- 
taken, unworthy,  and  destructive  of  his  plans,  and  de- 
manding from  him  the  most  prompt  and  vigorous  efforts 
to  crush  it?J: 

Nothing  can  be  more  natural  than  these  suggestions. 
Yet  they  enable  us  to  complete  the  picture  of  that  scene 
in  which  Jesus  resists  the  efforts  of  the  people  to  enthrone 
him.  For  they  show  the  Saviour  seizing  upon  his  dis- 
ciples, tearing  them  from  the  multitudes,  sending  them 
to  their  ship,  and  commanding  them  away,  as  the  most 
direct  and  effective  method  of  breaking  the  popular  spell, 
and  hindering  the  popular  design. 

No  wonder  that  the  disciples  yielded  to  the  Master 
most  unwillingly.  No  wonder  that  his  full  authority 
was  needed  in  order  to  resist  them.  They  were  relin- 
quishing the  present  fulfillment  of  their  most  fondly  an- 

*  See  Ch.  XVI.  f  ^cts  i.  6. 

J  Da  Costa,  writing  upon  another  subject,  calls  attention  to  the  fart, 
that  Mark  here  uses  a  military  word,  and  that  the  accurate  translatio»a 
would  here  be,  "while  he  disbanded  Vao,  multitudes."  This  looks  as  if  the 
people  had  already  organized  themselves  for  the  intended  effort. 

See  "The  Four  Witnesses,"  p.  100. 


THE    DISCIPLES    THWARTED.  InJ 

ticipated  scheiiios.     They  were  consenting  to  see  their 
most  ardently  cherished  hopes  yet  longer  deferred. 

Need  we  marvel,  in  view  of  all  the  probabilities,  that 
the  record  runs,  "  And  straightway  Jesus  constrained  his 
disciples  to  get  into  a  ship,  and  to  go  before  him  unto 
the  other  side,  while  he  sent  the  multitudes  away?" 
This  declaration,  rather,  is  seen  to  meet  the  exact  and 
full  state  of  the  case,  as  all  the  probabilities  represent  it. 


X. 

Crisis  in  the  Slstory  of  Judas. 

John  vi.  70,  71. 

This  chapter  needs  to  be  considered  in  connection 
with  the  preceding. 

The  next  day  after  the  miracle  of  feeding  the  five  thou- 
sand men,  Jesus  is  found  in  the  Synagogue  of  Caper- 
naum. His  disciples  are  with  him,  and  many  of  those 
who,  the  day  before,  had  shared  in  his  miraculous 
bounty,  and  sought  to  enthrone  him  as  the  Messiah. 
Likewise  hostile  "Jews"  are  present,  at  first  retired  and 
silent,  but  soon  coming  conspicuously  forward. 

In  answer  to  the  question  of  curiosity,  asked  by  some 
who  had  been  with  him  the  previous  evening,  "Rabbi, 
when  camest  thou  hither  ?"  Jesus  commences  a  discourse 
of  the  highest  practical  moment.  He  at  once  rebukes  the 
worldly  spirit  of  his  auditors,  and  directs  their  attention 
to  himself  as  a  spiritual  rather  than  a  worldly  benefac- 
tor. "  Jesus  answered  them  and  said,  Yerily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  you.  Ye  seek  me,  not  because  ye  saw  the  mi- 
racles, but  because  ye  did  oat  of  the  loaves,  and  were 
filled.  Labor  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for 
that  meat  which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life."  Thus 
the  discourse  harmonizes  with  his  conduct  the  evening 
before,  in  breaking  up  the  attempt  to  make  him  a 
worldly  king. 

64 


CRISIS   IX   JUDAS'   JirSTDIlV.  65 

The  discourse,  conceived  in  this  strain,  falls  upon  un- 
willing ears.  Questions  arise;  unbelief  begins  its  de- 
mands ;  and,  Avhen  Jesus,  instead  of  proffering  proofs  of 
his  divine  claims,  proceeds  to  assert  those  claims  in  a 
manner  still  more  offensive,  the  hostile  Jews  commence 
their  murmurings,  and  from  nmrmurings  go  on  to  a  very 
tumult  of  strife.  They  asked,  "How  is  it  that  he  saith, 
I  came  down  from  heaven?"  They  "strove  among 
themselves,  saying,  How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh 
to  eat." — Meanwhile  Jesus  only  advances  still  more 
absolute  claims,  and  asserts  the  truth  in  still  more  offen- 
sive forms.  He  is  the  bread  of  life,  and  except  they  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man  and  drink  his  blood,  they 
have  no  life  in  them. 

Thus  does  Jesus,  exhibiting  himself  in  mysterious 
words,  as  a  spiritual  benefactor,  endeavor  to  cut  up  by 
the  roots  all  mere  worldly  expectation  concerning  him. 

As  the  result  of  this  exposition  of  the  Saviour's  doc- 
trine, not  only  were  those  greatly  exasperated  who  had 
before  been  hostile  to  him,  but  many  who  had  attached 
themselves  to  his  ministry  forsook  him.  "From  that 
time  many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and  walked  no 
more  Avith  him."  They  were  glad  to  share  the  outward 
advantages  conferred  by  his  miracles,  but  they  had  no 
faith  to  receive  his  teachings  which  seemed  strange  to 
the  natural  understanding,  and  they  had  no  such  spiritual 
desires  as  disposed  them  to  embrace  him  as  the  Messiah 
of  their  hearts. 

The  juncture  was  most  solemn.  The  chaff  was  rapidly 
separating  from  the  wheat,  the  Son  of  man  having  taken 
his  fan  in  hand  and  proceeding  to  purge  his  threshing- 
floor.     The  disappointed  and  offended  multitudes  were 


66  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

forsaking  him;  even  many  of  those  who  had  been  his 
admiring  followers  were  dropping  from  his  presence; 
the  contagion  bids  fair  to  become  universal,  and  Jesus 
seems  about  to  be  left  utterly  alone.  At  this  juncture, 
he  turns  upon  the  twelve,  with  the  solemn  appeal, 
"Will  ye  also  go  away?"  The  appeal  does  not  long 
remain  unanswered.  Peter  responds,  for  himself  and 
his  fellows,  in  those  affecting,  noble  words  of  love  and 
faith,  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life.  And  we  believe,  and  are  sure 
that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Living  God." 

And  now  come  the  words  to  which  we  would  invite 
special  attention.  For,  how  does  Jesus  receive  this 
confession  of  his  disciples?  We  cannot  but  think  that 
it  must  have  been  most  grateful  to  him.  We  naturally 
look  to  see  him  approve  and  honor  it.  We  know  that 
when  Peter  made  a  similar  confession,  under  circum- 
stances much  less  trying,  Jesus  exclaimed,  "Blessed  art 
thou,  Simon  Bar-jona."*  Yet  now  ^Ye  find  that  Jesus 
replies  to  the  confession  of  his  disciples,  most  strangely 
and  abruptly,  with  words  of  stern  reproach  and  con- 
demnation. He  asks,  as  if  in  indignation,  "  Have  not  I 
chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil?"  And 
the  Evangelist  informs  us,  that  "he  spake  of  Judas 
Iscariot,  the  son  of  Simon ;  for  he  it  w^as  that  should  be- 
tray him,  being  one  of  the  twelve." 

Who  can  read  this  narrative,  without  inquiring  why 
it  was  that  the  falseness  of  Judas'  character  should  just 
now  have  risen  so  prominently  before  the  mind  of  the 
Saviour  as  apparently  to  overshadow  all  things  else? 

We  might  at  first  imagine  that  this  intense  feeling  of 

*  Matt.  xvi.  16. 


CRISIS   IN   JUDAS'    HISTORY.  G7 

displeasure  against  Judas  was  now  aroused,  simply  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  hypoeriticidly  acquiesced  in 
the  solemn  avowal  just  made  of  attachment  to  Christ, 
and  of  faith  in  his  Messiahship.  But  was  there  not 
equal  hypocrisy  in  Judas'  acquiescence  in  the  confession 
of  Peter,  referred  to  above?  Yet,  on  that  occasion, 
Jesus  does  not  advert  to  this  hypocrisy,  but  only  com- 
mends his  disciples?  There  seems  to  have  been  some- 
thing peculiar  in  the  case  of  Judas,  just  at  this  time. 

And  may  there  not,  we  ask,  have  been  just  now  a 
marked  development  in  the  character  of  Judas?  May 
not  the  hypocrisy  of  Judas,  as  now  manifested,  have 
been  something  new?  May  not  this  have  been  the 
critical  occasion  in  which  Judas  passed  from  the  condi- 
tion of  a  self-deceived  disciple,  to  that  of  a  conscious 
hypocrite?  May  not  Judas  have  shared  the  disappoint- 
ment and  disgust  of  the  worldly  multitudes  and  fickle 
followers  of  Jesus,  and  had  it  in  his  heart  to  leave  his 
Master;  and  may  he  not  now  in  heart  have  actually 
turned  from  Mm,  so  far  as  a  true  regard  for  him  was  con- 
cerned, yet  have  resolved  to  remain  with  him,  a  false 
friend,  in  the  hope  of  some  worldly  advantages  yet  to  be 
enjoyed? 

Now  this  probable  view  is  rendered  almost  certain, 
when  we  connect  with  the  passage  in  question  the  con- 
siderations of  the  foregoing  chapter. 

We  are  to  believe  that  Judas  attached  himself  to  the 
Saviour  under  the  governing  desire  of  sharing  that 
worldly  exaltation  which  he  believed  Jesus  would  soon 
attain.  The  other  apostles  expected  such  exaltation, 
and  desired  to  share  it ;  but  with  Judas  this  unworthy 
feeling  was  dominant  and  supreme,  as  it  was  not  with 


68  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

the  others.  When,  then,  under  the  influence  of  the 
miracle  of  worldly  blessing — the  miracle  of  abundant 
food — the  people  prepared  to  enthrone  Jesus  as  a  worldly 
king,  what  a  moment  of  exultation  it  must  have  been 
for  Judas  !  Even  now  he  beholds  his  cherished  hopes 
bursting  into  glad  fulfillment !  And  no  doubt,  if,  as 
we  have  been  led  to  think,  the  disciples,  as  a  body, 
headed  the  people  in  their  excited  attempt,  Judas  was 
probably  foremost  in  this  matter  among  the  disciples. 
He  was  the  ringleader.  His  presence  was  everywhere 
seen,  his  voice  was  everywhere  heard,  directing  his 
fellow-disciples  and  organizing  the  multitudes,  on  that 
memorable  afternoon. 

And  when  Jesus  interfered,  seizing  upon  the  Apostles 
and  sending  them  away,  it  must  have  been  Judas  who 
engaged  the  special  attentions  of  the  Saviour  and  occa- 
sioned his  most  authoritative  efforts.  More  reluctantly 
than  any  of  the  rest  would  Judas  cease  from  his  attempt; 
more  unwillingly  leave  the  scene  and  retire  to  the  ves- 
sel. And  if,  in  the  case  of  the  others,  the  disappoint- 
ment was  keen,  and  well  nigh  overwhelming,  much 
more  would  it  be  so  with  him. 

No  w^onder,  then,  if,  w^hen,  the  next  day,  Jesus,  in 
the  most  explicit  manner,  exposed  the  mistake  of  those 
who  followed  him  from  worldly  motives,  and  gave  them 
clearly  to  understand  that  he  was  not  a  worldly  but  a 
spiritual  Saviour,  Judas'  mind  was  made  up,  and  he 
resolved  to  have  nothing  further  to  do  with  the  Saviour 
and  his  cause  than  might  serve  his  personal  sordid  ends. 
And  thus  would  the  chosen  disciple  stand  revealed  to 
the  discerning  eye  of  the  Master,  as  one  who  was  not 
in   league  with   himself;   as  one  who  had  taken  sides 


CRISIS   IN   JUDAS'    HISTORY.  GO 

against   him   and    had   sold    himself    to    tlie    AVickcd 
One. 

The  miracle  and  the  discourse  of  Christ  taken  to- 
o-ether,  afforded  the  occasion  which  discriminated  among 
the  multitudes  the  true  disciples  from  the  false.  And 
these  taken  together  exhibit  a  juncture  critical,  in  like 
manner,  with  the  flilse  Apostle.  Judas,  sharing  with 
the  multitudes  in  their  expectations  and  their  disap- 
pointment by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  shared  also  in  their 
disgust,  and  their  decision  against  the  Saviour,  in  the 
synagogue  of  Capernaum.  Nay,  if  he  had  been  the 
leader  in  the  scheme  to  enthrone  the  Saviour,  so  may 
he  have  been  foremost  in  the  ensuing  disaffection ;  for 
when,  before  Peter's  confession,  many  of  his  disciples 
said,  "  This  is  an  hard  saying,  who  can  hear  it  ?"  Jesus 
addressed  the  murmurers  with  words  of  admonition, 
adding,  "  but  there  are  some  of  you  who  believe  not." 
And  the  Evangelist  continues,  showing  the  promi- 
nence of  Judas  herein,  "  For  Jesus  knew  from  the  be- 
ginning who  they  were  that  believed  not,  arid  who  should 
betray  him.^^ 


XI. 

Hie  Person  who  saw  Men,  as  Trees  walking  not  born  blind. 

Mark  viii.  22-26  ;  John  ix. 

The  incident  here  narrated  by  Mark  receives  illus- 
tration from  that  recorded  by  John,  above  referred  to, 
as  will  be  presently  seen,  only  in  a  negative  way. 

The  healing  of  the  blind  man  at  Bethsaida  is  distin- 
guished from  most,  if  not  all  the  other  miracles,  by  its 
being  wrought  progressively.  It  also  involved,  on  the 
part  of  the  Saviour,  numerous  and  peculiar  acts.  -Prob- 
ably these  peculiar  acts  were  employed,  both  to  show 
that  no  fixed  mode  was  essential  in  the  working  of  mir- 
acles, and  also  to  assist  the  faith  of  the  blind  man, 
which  seems  to  have  been  very  weak.  Those  who 
brought  the  man  besought  Christ  "  to  touch  him,"  as 
though  this  might  be  the  invariable  or  even  necessary 
mode  of  performing  miraculous  cures ;  also  the  man  is 
not  represented  as  himself  having  faith  in  Jesus,  but 
rather  it  is  his  friends,  who  bring  him  and  intercede 
for  him,  whose  faith  appears. 

The  narrative  of  the  healing  is  on  this  wise.  "  And 
he  took  the  blind  man  by  the  hand,  and  led  him  out 
of  the  town;  and  when  he  had  spit  on  his  eyes,  and  put  his 
hands  upon  him,  he  asked  him  if  he  saw  aught.  And 
he  looked  up,  and  said,  'I  see  men  as  trees  ivalking.' 
70 


MEN    AS    TREES    WALKING. 


71 


After  that,  he  put  his  hands  again  upon  his  eyes,  and 
made  him  look  up :  and  he  was  restored,  and  saw  every 
man  clearly." 

The  point  of  special  interest,  at  present,  is  this ;  that 
supposing  the  man  to  have  been  horn  blind,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  understand  how  he  should  be  able,  on  first 
coming  to  sight,  to  judge  of  the  comparative  appearance 
of  men  and  of  trees,  and  of  the  proper  motion  of  walking. 
It  is  in  great  measure  by  experience  that  we  learn  how 
the  forms  of  things  ought  to  appear.  Persons  born  blind 
are  sometimes  brought  to  sight,  through  modern  surgical 
skill,  as  in  cases  of  congenital  cataract.  And  it  is  said 
that  the  blind,  coming  for  the  first  time  to  sight,  are 
unable  to  judge  of  forms  and  distances.  They  cannot, 
simply  by  sight,  distinguish  a  globe  from  a  cube.  They 
must  handle  these  objects  in  connection  with  seeing 
them,  in  order  afterward  to  judge  of  them  aright  upon 
simple  sight.  They  have  no  idea  of  perspective,  all 
things  appearing  equally  near  or  remote ;  and  not  until 
they  have  gone  freely  about,  is  their  vision  competently 
instructed  to  judge  of  comparative  distances. 

We  may  not  indeed  limit  a  miracle.  The  miracle 
wrought  by  Peter  and  John,  on  the  man  lame  from  his 
birth,  who  lay  "  at  the  gate  of  the  temple,  which  is 
called  Beautiful,"  not  only  gave  strength  to  "  his  feet 
and  ancle-bones,"  so  that  he  might  of  himself  have 
afterwards  learned  to  walk,  but  it  also  gave  the  skill 
which  is  usually  acquired  by  experience,  so  that  "  he 
leaping  up,  stood,  and  walked,  and  entered  with  them 
into  the  temple,  walking  and  leaping  and  praising 
God."* 

*■  Acts  iii.  2-8. 


72  HOUKS   AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

Yet,  as  a  general  fact,  miracles  end  where  natural 
causes  may  suitably  begin.  Thus  the  daughter  of  Jairus 
was  brought  to  life  and  health,  yet  she  was  not  miracu- 
lously strengthened  in  body.  Natural  food  was  sufficient 
to  strengthen  her,  and  Jesus  "  commanded  that  some- 
thing should  be  given  her  to  eat."  In  the  case  of  the 
lame  man  just  mentioned,  there  was  a  great  moral  result 
to  be  attained,  in  giving  the  miracle  such  extent  of 
operation  as  to  enable  the  man  at  once  and  fully  to 
exercise  his  powers.  It  thus  had  an  effect,  which  it 
otherwise  would  not  have  had,  in  testifying  for  the 
risen  Saviour  and  his  religion. 

But,  in  the  case  before  us,  not  only  is  there  no  evi- 
dent reason  for  giving  such  extent  to  the  miracle,  but 
further,  the  miracle  itself  was  not  completed,  when  the 
patient  "  saw  men  as  trees  walking."  And  it  does  not 
seem  natural  to  suppose  that  the  miracle  should  have 
conferred  the  skill  of  experience,  before  it  had  conferred 
the  full  power  of  simple  vision — the  power  to  see  things 
"  clearly." 

Yet  the  whole  difficulty,  be  it  observed,  is  simply 
one  of  supposition.  For  the  narrative  does  not  state 
nor  imply  that  the  man  was  horn  blind.  It  says  noth- 
ing directly  upon  the  subject.  It  does  use  one  word, 
which,  in  an  ajiparently  undesigned  way,  intimates  that 
the  man  Avas  not  born  blind.  It  says  that  he  "  was  re- 
stored ;"  as  if  he  had  previously  lost  his  vision,  and  had 
now  got  it  back  again. 

Negative  proof  is  sometimes  the  strongest  of  all  proof. 
It  is  common,  with  the  Scripture  writers,  to  exhibit  the 
most  desperate  features  in  the  case  of  those  on  whom 
miracles  Avere  performed,  doubtless  in  order  that  the 


MEN   AS   TllEES    WALKING.  78 

reality  and  the  wonderful  clmractcr  of  the  niiraclos 
might  be  sufficiently  made  evident.  Tlius  it  is  stated 
that  the  infirm  man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda  had  been 
afflicted  thirty  and  eight  years ;  that  the  woman  with 
an  issue  of  blood  had  suffered  for  twelve  years,  and  had 
spent  her  whole  living  on  physicians  in  vain ;  and  that 
Lazarus  had  been  dead  four  days.*  And  not  only 
might  we  naturally  suppose  that  it  would  have  been  a 
circumstance  worth  mentioning,  if  this  man  had  been 
born  blind,  but  wc  find  that,  in  the  case  recorded  in  the 
ninth  of  John  above  cited,  this  fact  is  distinctly  and 
repeatedly  referred  to,  throughout  the  chapter,  as  one 
of  the  notable  features  of  the  case.  The  statement  is 
not  only  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  that  the 
man  "  was  blind  from  his  birth."  This  might  have 
been  done  because  of  the  ensuing  conversation,  in  which 
Christ  answered  the  question  of  his  disciples,  "  Master, 
who  did  sin,  this  man  or  his  parents,  that  he  was  born 
blind  ?''  But  afterward  the  Jews  demand  of  the  pa- 
rents, "  Is  this  your  son,  who  ye  say  was  horn  blind  f^ 
And  the  parents  respond,  "  We  know  that  this  is  our 
son,  and  that  he  was  horn  hlind.^'  And  the  man  him- 
self exclaims,  "  Since  the  world  began,  was  it  not  heard 
that  any  man  opened  the  eyes  of  one  that  was  horn 
blind,'' 

Now,  how  vastly  easy  w^ould  it  have  been  for  an  in- 
ventor of  history,  or  even  for  a  truthful  but  careless 
historian,  to  have  represented  the  man  of  Bethsaida  as 
born  blind,  and  thus  unconsciously  afforded  the  difficulty 
above  presented.     But  the  Scripture  records  are  not  in- 

*■  John  V.  5  ;  Mark  v.  25,  20 ;  John  xi.  39. 

r  D 


74  HOURS    AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

ventions ;  neither  are  tliey  the  product  of  mere  honest 
blunderers.  Rather  they  recount  actual  occurrences, 
even  when  these  are  stupendous  miracles;  and  they  are 
minutely  truthful,  even  as  such  "undesigned  coinci- 
dences "  most  forcibly  testify. 


XII. 

T7ie  Opening  of  a  New  Era  in  the  Mlnisfvy  of  Christ. 

Matthew  xvi.  21,  and  its  parallels. 

By  consulting  the  passages  cited,  it  will  be  seen  that 
our  Saviour  now  explicitly  foretold  his  death  and  res- 
urrection. He  taught  "his  disciples,"  not  the  people 
generally,  that  he  "must  suffer  many  things,"  be  "re- 
jected" by  the  chiefs  of  the  nation,  be  put  to  death, 
and  "be  raised  again  the  third  day."  He  represented 
this  dread  consummation  as  awaiting  him  in  Jerusalem, 
and  declared  that  under  the  sublime  necessity  of  his 
mission,  he  "  must  go  unto  Jerusalem  "  to  meet  it. 

It  is  important  to  understand  that  this  teaching  was 
sometJiing  new  to  the  disciples,  and  further,  that  Jesus 
now  began  this  teaching,  to  continue  it  at  intervals 
until  the  predicted  consummation  was  actually  reached. 
Indeed,  we  need  to  understand  that  a  new  era  in  the  life 
and  ministry  of  our  Saviour  was  now  opening,  in  which 
his  coming  sufferings  and  death  were  to  be  held  con- 
spicuously in  view,  and  in  which  his  movements  were 
to  be  governed,  to  an  extent  not  before  seen,  by  the  an- 
ticipation of  them.* 

*Bengel  in  loco  observes,  "The  Gospel  may  be  divided  into  two  parts, 
from  which  the  Divine  plan  of  Jesus  shines  forth.  The  first  proposition 
is,  JesHS  18  the  Christ;  the  second,  Christ  must  suffer,  die,  and  rise  again, 
or  more  briefly,  Christ  hy  death  will  enter  into  glory.     Jesus  first  convinced 

75 


76  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

The  fact  that  this  teaching  was  something  new,  would 
sufficiently  appear  from  the  language  of  our  Saviour 
here  employed,  if  we  would  but  give  his  expressions 
their  due  significance.  Mark  writes,  that  "he  began  to 
teach  them  that  the  Son  of  man  must  suifer  many 
things."  Our  Lord,  before  this,  had  given  some 
obscure  hints  upon  this  subject,  but  now  his  teachings 
were  clear  and  explicit.*  This  is  also  expressed  by 
Mark,  when  he  further  writes,  "And  he  spake  that  say- 
ing openly. ^^  Matthew  looks  to  the  new  era  which  was 
now  commencing,  when  he  says,  "From  that  time  forth 
began  Jesus  to  show  unto  his  disciples,"  etc.  While 
hitherto  the  subject  of  his  passion  had  been  referred  to, 
only  in  the  way  of  brief  and  casual  intimations,  it  was 
now  to  become  a  frequent  and  prominent  theme  of  dis- 
course. 

The  fact  that  this  teaching  was  new  to  the  disciples, 
appears  also  from  their  manner  of  receiving  it.  It 
took  them  by  surprise.  It  excited  the  profoundest 
emotions.  It  presented  their  Master  and  his  mission  in 
a  strange  and  painful  light. 

We  have  had  occasion  already  to  observe  Peter's  con- 
duct on  this  announcement  of  our  Saviour;  how,  una- 
ble to  endure  it,  he  took  the  Master  aside,  and  ventured 
not  only  to  remonstrate  with  him  but  even  to  rebuke 
him.f  No  doubt  this  feeling  of  Peter  was  shared  by 
his  companions.     The  thought  of  a  suffering  and  re- 

his  disciples  of  the  first  proposition ;  in  consequence  of  which  they  were 
bound  to  believe  him  concerning  the  second,  even  before  his  passion.  As 
soon  as  Jesus  had  persuaded  his  disciples  of  the  first  proposition,  he  added 
the  second." 

«-  John  iii.  14.     Matt.  x.  38,  etc.     f  See  page  25. 


NEW  KRA  IN  Christ's  ministry.  T7 

jccted  IMessiali  was  wholly  foreign  to  their  minds. 
They  had  been  so  for  enlightened  concerning  the  person 
of  Christ,  as  to  be  able  to  make  that  confident  acknow- 
ledgment of  him,  recorded  just  before  Jesus  began  this 
new  teaching,  when,  to  the  question  of  the  Master, 
"But  who  do  ye  say  that  I  am?"  Peter  answered, 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Yet 
they  regarded  Christ  chiefly  in  the  light  of  a  prophet 
and  of  a  king.  They  had  not  yet  apprehended  him  in 
his  priestly  character. 

Now,  what  we  have  said  above,  receives  full  illustra- 
tion from  the  history.  By  comparing  the  evangelic 
records  prior  to  this  time,  with  those  which  follow,  we 
may  readily  see  that  now  a  ncAV  chapter  was  opened  in 
the  ministry  of  Christ.  ^Ye  may  see  that  the  anticipa- 
tion of  his  dreadful  trials  and  bloody  passion,  not  only 
led  the  Saviour,  from  this  time  forth,  to  speak  with  his 
disciples  on  this  subject,  in  occasional  and  formal  in- 
structions, but  also  tinged  his  various  thoughts,  affected 
his  various  movements,  and  brought  to  him  peculiar 
experiences,  thus  giving  distinct  character  to  his  Avhole 
subsequent  ministry. 

It  may  be  enough  for  us  now,  remembering  the 
absence  of  explicit  teachings  hitherto  concerning  Christ's 
passion,  to  instance  a  few  passages,  in  the  subsequent 
history,  in  which  the  subject  is  distinctly  treated. 

Only  a  week  after  Jesus  began  this  new  instruction, 
occurred  his  transfiguration.  In  this  sublime  event  we 
behold  one  of  those  peculiar  experiences  of  the  Saviour, 
just  referred  to,  granted  him  in  view  of  his  coming 
humiliation.  Likewise  it  had  for  the  disciples  an  im- 
portant teaching,  as  we  shall  by  and  by  show.     But  in 

7  * 


78  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

connection  with  this  event,  our  Saviour  is  found  mak- 
ing, to  the  three  disciples  who  attended  him,  a  distinct 
reference  to  his  death  and  resurrection.  "As  they  came 
down  from  the  mountain,  Jesus  charged  them,  saying. 
Tell  the  vision  to  no  man,  until  the  Son  of  Man  be 
risen  again  from  the  dead."  One  of  the  Evangelists  in- 
forms us  that  the  disciples  "  kept  that  saying  with  them- 
selves, questioning  one  with  another  what  the  rising 
from  the  dead  should  mean."  (Mark.)  And  further, 
in  answer  to  the  question  of  the  disciples,  "Why  say 
the  Scribes  that  Elias  must  first  come?"  Jesus  "answered 
and  told  them,  Elias  verily  cometh  first  and  restoreth 
all  things;  and  how  it  is  written  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
that  he  must  suffer  many  things,  and  be  set  at  nought." 
Here  it  is  seen,  that  the  theme  upon  which  Jesus  began 
to  teach,  just  after  Peter's  noble  confession,  was 
speedily  resumed  again. 

Yet  only  three  of  the  Apostles  witnessed  the  trans- 
figuration, and  heard  the  instruction  given  in  connection 
with  it.  Soon  after  this,  however,  indeed  the  very  next 
day,  as  appears  from  Luke's  narrative, — Jesus  teaches 
the  same  lesson,  in  explicit  terms,  to  the  whole  company 
of  the  Twelve.* 

Leaving  the  region  of  Cesarea  Philippi,  the  scene  of 
his  transfiguration  and  of  his  healing  the  demoniac  boy, 
and  journeying  into  Galilee,  he  introduces  the  subject, 
in  connection  with  his  former  miracle.  The  people  had 
greatly  wondered  over  that  miracle.  They  seem  to  have 
uttered  their  admiration  in  unwonted  applauses.  And 
Jesus,  amidst  the  echoes  of  these  applauses,  admonishes 
his  disciples  of  his  coming  humiliation  and  death.     He 

-•'•  See  Matt.  xvii.  22,  23,  and  its  paralleia. 


NEW    ERA    IN    CHRIST'S    MINISTRY.  79 

says,  "Let  these  sayings  sink  down  into  your  ears:  for 
the  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of 
men."     (Luke.)     The  time  was  at  hand  in  wliich  sueh 
tokens  of    his  Almighty    power  as  had  recently  been 
exhibited,  might  be  forgotten  in  his  seeming  helplessness 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies.     On  the  way  to  Galilee,  and 
while  sojourning  in  that  country,  Jesus  remains  in  seclu- 
sion witii  his  disciples,  in  order  that  he  may  speak  with 
tliem  yet  more  fully.     And  Matthew  and  Mark  record 
the  repeated  prediction  of  his  death  and  resurrection,  and 
with  Luke  intimate  the  new  circumstance  of  his  betrayal 
to  his  enemies.     "The  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  into 
the  hands  of  men."     Thus  plainly  did  Christ  continue 
the  teaching  which  he  before  "began."     The  disciples 
very  imperfectly   understood  the  true   meaning  of  his 
words;  yet  they  undei-stood  enough  to  be  greatly  sad- 
dened.    The  subject  was  of  such  mysterious  nature  that 
they  shrank  from  questioning  the  Saviour  for  any  ex- 
planation of  his  meaning.* 

Not  long  after  this,  Jesus  having  for  a  long  time 
avoided  Jerusalem,  because  of  the  deadly  hostility  of  the 
Jews,  secretly  goes  up  to  the  city,  and  suddenly  throws 

*■  Remembering  the  familiarity  of  the  disciples  with  the  Master,  it  may 
at  first  seem  to  us  strange  that  they  should  hesitate  to  speak  with  him 
freely  upon  this  subject.  In  a  comment  of  singular  impressiveness,  on 
Mark  ix.  32,  Alexander  observes,  that  the  reticences  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed instinctively  to  practice  towards  one  another,  even  when  most 
familiarly  acquainted  and  tenderly  related,  are  equally  difficult  of  rational 
explanation.  The  personality  of  every  one  is  sacred.  Nothing  stands 
more  closely  related  to  our  personality  than  death.  There  was  that  in  the 
personality  of  Jesus,  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  yet  the  mortal  Son  of  man, 
which  was  awfully  mysterious.  After  the  resurrection,  Jesus  appearing  to 
his  disciples  on  the  shore  of  the  sea  of  Galilee,  ''none  of  them  durst  ask 
him,  who  art  thou,  knowing  that  it  was  the  Lord."     (John  xxi.  12.) 


80  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

himself  into  the  midst  of  his  foes.*  He  begins  that 
ministry  in  which  he  is  confronted  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
nation,  eager  for  his  destruction.  With  his  life  in  his 
hand,  he  attacks  Pharisaism  in  its  stronghold,  vindicates 
at  the  National  Capital  and  in  the  presence  of  all  people, 
his  Divine  Sonship  and  Messiahship,  even  as  it  behooved 
him  to  do,  before  he  should  die.  On  this  occasion,  he 
warns  the  people  that  he  is  to  be  with  them  only  "a  lit- 
tle while. "t  Having  retired  for  a  brief  period  into 
Perea,  and  going  up  thence  to  Jerusalem  for  the  last 
time,  he  again,  while  on  the  way,  takes  his  disciples 
aside,  and  admonishes  them  that  the  hour  of  his  suffer- 
ings and  death  is  at  hand.  J 

This  further  distinct  announcement  is  of  peculiar  in- 
terest. It  was  made  under  a  singular  stress  of  feeling, 
on  the  part  of  both  the  Master  and  his  disciples.  Mark 
informs  us  that  "they  were  in  the  way,  going  up  to  Je- 
rusalem ;  and  Jesus  went  before  them :  and  they  were 
amazed;  and  as  they  followed,  they  were  afraid.  And 
he  took  again  the  twelve,  and  began  to  tell  them  what 
things  should  happen  unto  him."  The  prediction  is 
now  more  full  than  ever.  There  is  an  enumeration  of 
the  indignities  which  should  be  committed  against  him, 
and  the  statement  is  made  that  he  shall  not  only  be  be- 
trayed to  the  chiefs  of  his  own  nation,  but  that  they  in 
turn  shall  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles,  who  shall  inflict 
the  indignities  mentioned,  and  at  last  put  him  to  death 
by  crucifixion,  (^Matthew.)  As  before,  he  clearly  foretells 
his  resurrection  on  the  third  day.     And  again  we  are 

*  John  vii.  10,  14.  f  John  vii.  33. 

X  Matt.  XX.  17-19,  and  its  parallels. 


NEW  ERA  IN  Christ's  ministry.  81 

informed  by  Luke  that  the  disciples  failed  to  compre- 
hcud  the  Saviour's  meaning. 

In  Jerusalem  a<2:ain,  and  eno-ag-ed  in  his  last  conflictf* 
with  his  enemies,  we  find  him  at  one  time  tasting  the 
bitterness  of  the  anticipation  of  "his  hour," — such  an 
anticipation  as  on  the  night  before  lie  suffered  had  well 
nigh  crushed  him,  and  which  here  brought  from  liimthe 
exclamation,  "JS^ow  is  my  soul  troubled  and  what  shall 
I  say?'**  Again  he  warns  the  people  to  walk  in  the 
light  while  they  have  the  light,  lest  speedy  darkness 
overtake  them.f  Soon  after,  he  is  in  the  midst  of  his 
disciples,  eating  the  passover  with  them,  as  he  had 
greatly  desired  to  do  before  he  should  suffer;  announc- 
ing that  he  shall  be  betrayed  by  one  of  their  own  num- 
ber; instituting  the  memorial  supper;  predicting  the 
smiting  of  the  Shepherd  and  the  scattering  of  the  flock ; 
giving  his  last  counsels  and  offering  his  last  intercessory 
prayer;  all  being  speedily  followed  by  the  dread  events 
of  his  agony,  his  arrest,  his  trial,  and  his  crucifixion. 

Does  not  this  brief  survey  of  our  Lord's  ministry  sub- 
sequent to  the  time  before  us,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  fact  that  prior  to  this  time  no  explicit  teachings  of 
the  sort  adverted  to  were  given,  sufficiently  illustrate 
and  confirm  the  statement,  that  just  now  commenced  a 
new  era  in  his  ministry,  an  era  which  distinctly  contem- 
plated his  death?  "From  that  time  forth"  began 
Jesus,  both  to  show  to  his  disciples  his  aj^proaching  pas- 
sion, now  but  a  few  months  distant,  and  also  to  antici- 
pate and  prepare  for  it,  in  a  more  direct  Avay  than  be- 
fore. 

It  may  be  observed,  before  dismissing  this  subject, 

*■  John  xii.  27.  f  .rnbn  xii.  35. 


82  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

that  conceiving  of  our  Saviour  as  now  passing  from  his 
general  ministry  of  active  and  varied  labors,  to  his 
ministry  of  suifering — to  that  ministry  in  Avhich  the 
things  of  his  mysterious  passion  rose  into  colossal  promi- 
nence, and  cast  their  awful  shadow  over  his  life — the 
events  immediately  preceding  and  folloAving  the  an- 
nouncement of  our  Saviour  before  us,  have  a  new  mean- 
ing. 

The  event  immediately  preceding  is  that  of  the  dis- 
ciples' distinct  and  solemn  avowal  of  their  faith  in  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus,  in  contrast  with  the  varying 
opinions  of  the  people  concerning  him.  While  some 
said  that  Jesus  was  John  the  Baptist,  others  that  he  was 
Elijah,  others  that  he  was  Jeremiah,  or  some  one  of  the 
other  old  prophets  returned  to  life,  the  disciples,  upon 
the  challenge  of  the  Master,  declared  their  faith  in  him 
as  none  other  than  the  Messiah.  And,  in  the  light  of 
the  foregoing  considerations,  our  Saviour  is  herein  seen 
preparing  the  minds  of  his  disciples  for  the  announce- 
ment of  what  will  sorely  try  their  faith.  It  is  as  if  he 
had  said,  "You  are  fully  convinced  that  I  am  the  Mes- 
siah: well,  I  sliall  now  tell  you  some  things  which  will 
wholly  contradict  your  notions  concerning  the  Messiah, 
and  I  desire  you  to  have  the  evidences  of  my  Messiah- 
ship  clearly  before  you,  that  this  new  teaching  may  not 
shake  your  faith." 

The  event  immediately  following  is  that  of  the  Trans- 
figuration. Jesus  was  for  a  time  personally  glorified  in 
the  presence  of  three  of  his  disciples.  Two  of  the  most 
illustrious  personages  in  Jewish  history,  Moses,  the 
founder  of  the  Hebrew  Economy,  and  Elijah,  its  great 
restorer,  were  present  in  glorified  form,  talking  with 


NEW  ERA  IN  Christ's  ministry.  88 

Jesus.  The  sole  subject  of  their  couversatiou,  so  far  as 
we  are  informed,  was  "  liis  decease  wliicli  lie  should  ac- 
complish at  Jerusalem."  And,  in  the  li«i;ht  of  the  fore- 
going considerations,  how  nuist  l^eter  and  his  compan- 
ions on  the  mount  have  wondered,  when  they  found 
that  the  subject  of  Jesus'  recent  instructions,  so  unwel- 
come to  themselves,  was  of  absorbing  interest  to  these 
distinguished,  heavenly  guests.  And  how  well  adapted 
to  correct  their  false  views  must  have  been  the  discovery 
here  made,  that  the  idea  of  a  dying  ]\Iessiah,  which  they 
had  regarded  as  foreign  to  their  Scriptures,  was,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  two  great  representatives  of  the  Law 
and  of  the  Prophets,  the  grand  idea.  And  how  well 
adapted  to  correct  their  erroneous  conceptions  of  what 
constituted  the  proper  glory  of  Christ,  to  find  Jesus  all 
intent  upon  his  coming  humiliation  even  unto  death,  at 
the  very  moment  that  he  was  all  radiant  with  more  than 
earthly  regal  splendor. 


XIII. 

The  Transfiguration  occurring  at  NigJit. 

Luke  ix.  28-36  j  ix.  37. 

Perhaps  we  most  commonly  think  of  the  Transfig- 
uration as  having  occurred  in  the  daytime.  The  scene, 
no  doubt,  would  have  been  inconceivably  glorious,  had 
it  occurred  even  at  noonday.  The  light  of  heaven,  as 
at  Paul's  conversion,  would  have  outshone  the  brightness 
of  the  sun.  Yet,  in  all  probability,  the  Transfiguration 
occurred  at  night.  And  so  thinking  of  it,  our  concep- 
tion of  the  brilliancy  of  the  scene  is  enhanced,  rather 
than  diminished.  The  light  of  heaven  is  then  brouglit 
into  contrast  with  earthly  darkness,  rather  than  into 
comparison  with  earthly  light.  It  might  indeed  be 
imagined  that  the  appearance  of  the  cloud,  in  the  scene 
of  the  Transfiguration,  would  have  been  more  impres- 
sive by  daylight  than  in  the  darkness ;  yet  this  would 
not  have  been,  unless  the  cloud  itself  had  been  dark, 
which  we  know  was  not  the  fact.  It  was  "a  hriglit 
cloud"  which  "overshadowed  them."  The  voice  of 
God  came  from  this  cloud.  Symbolical  of  God's  pres- 
ence, it  was  luminous,  like  the  Shekinah,  which  over- 
hung the  mercy-seat  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  The 
cloud  being  thus  of  bright  and  burning  appearance,  its 
brilliancy,  like  that  of  the  other  parts  of  the  sublime 

84 


JESUS   TRANSFIGURED   AT    NIGHT.  S.> 

scene,  would  be  enhancecl,  nithcr  than  diminished,  by 
appearing  in  contrast  with  the  darkness  of  night.* 

Now  that  the  night,  rather  than  the  day,  witnessed 
this  scene,  we  might  infer  from  two  suggestions  offered 
by  the  narrative  itself.  The  first  is  this;  that,  accord- 
ing to  Luke's  account — Luke  being  here,  as  often  else- 
where, intent  on  our  Saviour's  devotional  habits — Jesus 
went  up  to  the  mount  of  Transfiguration  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prayer,  and  was  actually  transfigured  while  en- 
gaged in  prayer.  Luke  writes,  "he  took  Peter  and 
John  and  James,  and  went  up  into  a  mountain  to  pray. 
And  as  he  prayed,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was 
altered,  and  his  raiment  was  white  and  glistering." 
And  the  gospel  narratives  abundantly  inform  us  that  it 
was  at  night  that  Jesus  was  accustomed  to  seek  the  soli- 
tudes for  devotional  purposes,  f 

"  Cold  mountains  and  the  midnight  air 
Witnessed  the  fervor  of  his  prayer." 

The  other  suggestion  also  comes  from  a  statement  pe- 
culiar to  Luke's  narrative  ;  to  wit,  that  when  the  Trans- 
figuration occurred,  the  disciples  were  oppressed  with 
sleep.  They  did  not,  as  it  seems  from  the  language  of 
our  version,  witness  the  act  of  transfiguration.  The 
change  had  already  passed  upon  the  Saviour,  and  the 
heavenly  visitants  had  arrived,  when  the  disciples  awoke. 
Possibly  the  flashings  of  celestial  glory  may  have  awak- 

*  Olshausen  observes  that  the  words  "overshadowed  them"  are  used 
in  regard  to  the  light-cloud,  only  in  so  far  as  it  prevented  the  disciples 
from  seeing.  The  most  intense  light  is  equivalent  to  darkness.  Hence, 
in  the  language  of  Scripture,  the  expressions  are  used  synonymously,  God 
dwelleth  in  "  light  inaccessible,"  and  in  "  darkness." 

t  M:itt.  xiv.  23,  24;  Mark  i.  35;  Luke  vi.  12. 


86  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

ened  them.*  Luke  writes,  "But  Peter  and  they  that 
were  with  him  were  heavy  with  sleep,  and  when  they 
were  awake,  they  saw  his  glory,  and  the  two  that  stood 
with  him."  Are  we  not  reminded  of  that  night  which 
followed  not  long  after  this,  in  which  these  same  three 
Apostles  were  the  only  companions  of  the  Saviour,  and  in 
which,  while  he  prayed,  they  fell  asleep  ?t 

I^ow,  connecting  with  these  suggestions  which  come 
from  the  narrative,  the  statement  made  by  Luke  follow- 
ing his  account  of  the  Transfiguration,  to  wit,  "  And  it 
came  to  pass,  that  on  the  next  day,  when  they  were  come 
doAvn  from  the  hill,  much  people  met  him,"  it  seems  well 
nigh  certain  that  the  Transfiguration  occurred  at  night. 

It  may  be  worth  a  closing  observation,  that  the  fact 
that  the  Evangelist  Luke  affords  all  these  intimations 
concerning  the  Transfiguration  occurring  at  night,  indi- 
cates that  he  regarded  this  circumstance  with  peculiar 
interest. 

*  Alford  in  loco  gives  as  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word  translated 
"  when  they  were  awake,"  having  kept  moake,  and  seems  to  think  that  the 
disciples  had  not  fallen  asleep.  Accepting  the  translation,  the  inference 
is  not  necessary  ;  but  granting  both,  the  argument  remains  the  same  for 
its  being  night-time.  Indeed,  Alford  argues  that  it  was  night-time,  and 
presents  to  such  an  extent  the  very  same  line  of  remark  found  in  this 
chapter,  that  our  view  might  be  thought  to  have  been  adopted  from  him, 
which  is  not  the  case. 

t  Matt.  xxvi.  40-45. 


XIV. 

Tlie  Transfiguration  Scene  culminating  in  the  Heavenly  Voice. 

Matt.  xvii.  5-7;  ii  Peter  i.  17,  18. 

Not  only  did  the  Transfiguration  scene  end  with  the 
3oming  of  the  bright  cloud  which  betokened  the  Divine 
presence,  and  the  issuing  of  the  Divine  voice  out  of  its 
bosom,  but  this  was  the  point  of  intensest  interest  to  the 
disciples. 

The  whole  vision  of  the  glorified  Jesus  and  his  celes- 
tial attendants  was  extatic,  evoking  from  the  bewildered 
Peter,  when  it  seemed  about  to  end,  the  exclamation 
intended  to  stay  its  ending,  "Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to 
be  here :  and  let  us  make  three  tabernacles ;  one  for  thee, 
and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elias."  Yet  not  so 
profoundly  impressive  was  this  sight,  as  was  that  whicli 
followed.  This  we  may  see  by  a  comparison  of  the 
records. 

Mark  informs  us  that  at  the  time  when  Peter  felt 
constrained  to  speak,  the  disciples  were  "sore  afraid." 
Yet  impressed  as  they  already  were,  a  still  deeper  awe 
stole  upon  them,  as  they  beheld  the  bright  overshadow- 
ing cloud  about  to  envelop  them;  for  Luke  writes, 
"they  feared  as  they  entered  into  the  cloud."*     Yet  a 

•■•  Some  interpret  the  expression  "  they  feared  as  they  entered  the  cloud," 
that  the  disciples  feared,  when  Moses  and  Elias  entered  the  cloud.  This 
seems  unnatural ;  and  the  reason  assigned  for  it  by  Alford,  to  wit,  that 
if  the  discii)les  had  entered  the  cloud,  the  voice  would  not  have  been  heard 
"  out  of  the  cloud,"  has  little  force. 

87 


88  HOUKS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

still  profounder  fear  oppressed  them,  when  from  the 
cloud  now  surrounding  them,  came  the  heavenly  testi- 
mony, sounding  on  the  listening  ear  of  night,  "This  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  hear  ye 
him;"  for  Matthew  writes,  that  "when  the  disciples 
heard  it,  tliey  fell  on  their  face^  and  were  sore  afraid." 
Like  John  in  Patmos,  before  the  majestic  apparition  of 
the  Son  of  Man,  they  fell  on  their  faces  as  dead,  being 
directly  confronted  with  the  glory  of  God.  And  from 
their  prostration  they  did  not  recover,  until  Jesus  came 
to  their  relief,  reassuring  them,  much  as  he  did  John  in 
Patmos,  by  his  touch  and  his  voice. 

And,  now,  how  admirably  confirmatory  of  this  account, 
in  which  the  impression  of  awe  is  seen  to  be  constantly 
deepening,  until  at  last,  with  the  coming  of  the  Divine 
voice,  it  is  absolutely  overpowering,  is  the  statement 
which  Peter  makes  concerning  the  Transfiguration,  many 
years  after,  when  he  is  shortly  to  put  off  his  earthly 
tabernacle. 

Few  are  the  personal  reminiscences  of  their  intercourse 
with  the  Saviour,  given  by  the  disciples  in  their  epis- 
tolary writings.  Yet  Peter  makes  an  emphatic  appeal 
to  this  most  memorable  occurrence  on  the  mount  of 
Transfiguration.  And,  calling  the  scene  to  mind,  be  it 
observed  that  he  dwells  particularly,  not  on  the  glory 
which  Christ  received  from  his  being  transfigured  in 
person,  not  on  the  honor  done  him  by  the  attendance  of 
Moses  and  Elias,  but  solely  on  the  honor  which  God  the 
Father  gave  him,  in  the  voice  out  of  the  cloud.  "For," 
says  the  venerable  Apostle,  speaking  as  if  in  vivid  view 
of  the  scene,  and  in  tones  suggestive  of  remaining  awe, 
"we  have  not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  when 


THE   HEAVENLY  VOICE.  89 

we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coniin<^  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his 
majesty.  For  he  received  from  God  the  Father  honor 
and  glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from 
the  excellent  glory,  This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom 
T  am  well  pleased.  And  this  voice  which  came  from 
heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  him  in  the  holy 
mount." 
8  * 


XV, 

TJie  Exclamation,  "  O  Faithless  and  Perverse  Generation;"  as  uttered 
soon  after  the  Transfiguration. 

Matt.  xvii.  17 ;  2-9. 

During  the  temporary  absence  of  Jesus,  on  the  mount 
of  Transfiguration,  with  "the  three  disciples  chosen  of 
the  twelve,"  events  of  great  interest  were  occurring  in 
connection  with  the  remaining  disciples. 

A  man  had  brought  his  demoniac  son  to  these  dis- 
ciples, and  they  had  made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  heal 
him.  There  were  Scribes  present  who  did  not  fail  to 
embrace  this  opportunity  for  "questioning  with  the  dis- 
ciples." No  doubt  these  Scribes  took  advantage  of  their 
failure,  to  contest  their  claim  to  power  over  evil  spirits, 
and  perhaps  the  like  claim  of  their  Master.  The  poor 
disciples,  mortified  by  their  failure  and  unable  to  account 
for  it,*  were  evidently  hard  pressed,  when  the  Master 
opportunely  arrives.  Soon  he  transfers  the  controversy 
from  them  to  himself,  and  shows  himself  master  of  the 
situation.f 

^s  Matt.  xvii.  19,  20. 

f  "  But  as  when  some  great  captain,  suddenly  arriving  upon  a  field  of 
battle,  where  his  subordinate  lieutenants  have  well  nigh  lost  the  day,  and 
brought  all  into  a  hopeless  confusion,  with  his  eye  measures  at  oiice  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  moment,  and  with  no  more  than  his  presence  causes  the  tide 
of  victory  to  turn,  and  everything  to  right  itself  again,  so  was  it  now.  The 
Lord  arrests  the  advancing  and  victorious  foe;  he  addresses  himself  to  the 
Scribes,  and  saying,  '  What  question  ye  with  them  ?'  takes  the  baffled  and 
90 


FAITHLESS   AND    PERVERSE    GENERATION.  91 

Before  the  Scribes  could  respond  to  his  iii(|iilry, 
'^AVhat  question  ye  Avitli  them?"  a  man  of  the  company 
cries  out.  It  is  the  flither  of  the  demoniac,  who  intro- 
duces and  describes  the  case  of  his  child.  As  this  cry  of 
the  man  is  in  response  to  the  challenge  of  Jesus  to  the 
Scribes,  (Mark)  the  supposition  is  confinued  that  the 
Scribes  were  questioning  the  disciples  concerning  their 
failure  ^vith  this  demoniac. 

The  father,  prostrating  himself  before  Jesus,  (Mat- 
thew) entreats  his  pity,  enforcing  his  plea  with  the  con- 
sideration that  this  is  his  "onlf  child."  (Luke.)  And 
the  case  of  the  child,  as  the  father  describes  it,  is  indeed 
lamentable.  He  was  an  epileptic,  as  all  the  accounts 
show.  He  was  also  disordered  in  his  organs  of  speech 
and  of  hearing.  (Mark.)  And,  still  further,  he  was 
mentally  deranged.  (Matthew.)  Thus  the  evil  demon, 
in  taking  possession  of  the  child,  had  run  the  whole 
range  of  its  being,  occupying  every  organ  of  the  body 
and  ascending  the  throne  of  the  intellect,  and  now  was 
rioting  at  will  over  the  wdiole  domain.  The  father  does 
not  fail  to  state  that  the  disciples  had  measured  strength 
with  the  demon,  and  had  been  baffled  in  their  attempts 
to  eject  him. 

And  now  there  is  heard  from  the  Saviour  that  strange, 
that  almost  passionate  exclamation,  which  is  the  object 
of  our  special  attention.  Never  before  have  we  heard 
from  him  anything  resembling  it.  All  the  writers  who 
record  the  miracle  wrought  in  connection  with  it,  are 
careful  to  give  it,  using  almost  the  self-same  words.     Pie 

hard-jircssed  disciples  under  his  own  protection,  implying  by  his  words, 
'  If  you  have  any  question,  henceforth  it  must  be  with  me.' " — Trench 
on  the  Miracles. 


92  HOUES   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

cries,  "O  faithless  and  perverse  generation,  how  long 
shall  I  be  with  you  ?   how  long  shall  I  suffer  you  ?" 

What  was  it  that  brought  from  our  Saviour  this  lan- 
guage? Endeavoring  to  answer  this  question,  we  may 
find  much,  in  the  very  circumstances  at  the  moment  ex- 
isting, seemingly  adapted  to  provoke  the  exclamation. 
In  view  of  the  whole  scene  about  him,  exhibiting  a  most 
defective  faith  on  the  part  of  his  disciples,  utter  unbelief 
and  malignant  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  scribes,  and 
probably  a  capricious  spirit  of  curious  and  blind  wonder, 
ready  to  applaud  or  decry  the  Saviour  in  alternate 
voices,  on  the  part  of  the  people ; — in  view  of  this,  the 
generation  with  whom  he  had  so  long  labored  to  such 
little  purpose,  might  well  seem  faithless  and  perverse, 
and  he  might  well  desire  relief  from  the  toils  and  the 
persecutions  which  characterized  his  ministry  among 
them. 

Yet  frequently  before  and  after  this,  the  Saviour  may 
be  seen  in  circumstances  apparently  as  trying,  when  he 
utters  no  such  word.*  May  there  not  have  been  some- 
thing peculiar  in  the  present  case,  which  we  have  not  yet 
noted  ?  We  think  there  was,  and  that  the  sacred  narra- 
tive affords  us  the  opportunity  of  seeing  it. 

Only  a  short  time  before  this,  as  we  have  already  ob- 
served, Jesus  had  begun, 'more  distinctly  than  ever,  to 
anticipate  and  speak  of  his  coming  death.f  Now  the 
thought  of  his  death  was,  no  doubt,  usually  attended  with 
the   distinct    anticipation   of    his    heavenly   exaltation. 

*  The  exclamation  in  Luke  xii.  50,  "But  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  bap 
tized  with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished,"  is  somewhat 
similar,  expressing  a  holy  eagerness  to  realize  the  triumphs  of  his  death. 

-f-  Matt.  xvi.  21. 


FAITHLESS    AND    PERVERSE    GENERATION.  U3 

"  Ought  not  Clirist  to  have  sufU'rcd  these  things,  and  t() 
enter  into  his  glory  ?"  "  Who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set 
before  him,  endured  the  cross."  "Tlie  liour  is  come  that 
the  Son  of  ^lan  should  be  glorified."  Thouglits  of  his 
coming  glory,  tlien,  had  recently  been  much  in  the  mind 
of  Jesus,  prior  to  the  occasion  before  us.  Not  only  so, 
but  the  very  night  preceding,  he  had  enjoyed  an  actual 
experience  of  heavenly  glory  on  the  mount  of  Transfig- 
uration. Just  now  he  was  fresh  from  the  scene  of  his 
communings  with  Moses  and  Elias,  and  from  the  re- 
ception of  the  high  honor  of  his  Father's  testified  appro- 
bation. 

And  can  we  but  think  that  it  was  the  contrast  of  his 
anticipations  of  heaven  with  his  experience  of  earth,  and, 
especially,  the  sudden  contrast  of  his  blessed  taste  of 
heavenly  honor  and  joy  with  the  bitterness  of  his  life 
amidst  the  dishonors  of  men,  that  extorted  the  cry,  not 
only,  "  O  faithless  and  perverse  generation,"  but,  "  how 
long  shall  I  be  with  you,  how  long  shall  I  suffer  you  ?" 
As  if  he  had  said,  "  O  when  shall  the  time  arrive,  that, 
these  toils  and  sufferings  accomplished,  the  glory,  as  of 
the  mount  of  Transfiguration,  shall  be  mine  to  enjoy, 
without  measure  and  without  end  ?" 


XVI. 

The  Contentions  of  the  Disciples  among  thetnselves  ;  as  alivays  con- 
nected with  Christ's  Teachings  concerning  His  Death. 

Mark  ix.  33,  34;  x.  35-45;  Luke  xxii.  24-27. 

Almost  every  reader  of  the  gospels  has,  at  some  time 
or  other,  observed  with  surprise,  that  a  disgraceful  strife 
among  the  disciples,  as  to  who  of  them  should  be  the 
greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  arose  in  close  con- 
nection with  the  distinct  instruction  of  our  Saviour,  of 
momentous  and  absorbing  concern,  in  reference  to  his 
coming  sufferings  and  death.  Just  when  we  should 
have  expected  them  to  be  all  intent  on  Ms  terrible  humil- 
iation, predicted  to  them  confidentially  and  with  great 
solemnity,  they  are  only  concerned  for  their  own  selfish 
exaltation  one  above  another. 

But  perhaps  it  escapes  the  observation  of  most  readers, 
that  these  occasions  of  contention  among  the  disciples, 
which  were  three  in  number,  invariably  followed  upon 
such  teachings  of  our  Saviour,  and  that  these  occasions 
were  the  only  ones  in  which,  after  the  first  announcement, 
our  Saviour  explicitly  predicted  to  the  Twelve  his  coming 
humiliation.  Yet  such  is  the  fact.  Whenever  he  spoke 
freely,  to  the  company  of  his  Apostles,  of  his  expected 
humiliation,  they  began  at  once  to  dispute  with  one  an- 
other concerning  their  expected  exaltation. 

AYe  have  already  reviewed  these  peculiar  teachings 

94 


CONTENTIONS   AMONG    THE    TWELVE.  95 

with  relation  to  another  subject.*  Let  us  now  ghmce  at 
tliem  in  reference  to  this. 

The  first  occasion  occurred,  when  they  came  from 
Cesarea  Philippi  to  Galilee,  after  the  Transfiguration  and 
the  miracle  of  healing  the  demoniac  boy.f  It  would  seem 
that  it  was  while  they  were  making  their  way  toward 
Capernaum  that  Jesus  spoke  to  them  plainly  of  his  im- 
pending death.  Arriving  at  Capernaum,  (Matthew  and 
Mark,)  "  and  being  in  the  house,  he  asked  them,  What 
was  it  that  ye  disputed  among  yourselves  by  the  icay  f 
But  they  held  their  peace ;  for  hij  the  luay  they  had  dis- 
puted among  themselves,  who  should  be  the  greatest." 
(Mark.)  Then,  setting  a  child  in  the  midst  of  them,  he 
inculcates  the  lesson  of  Christian  humility.  Thus,  in 
this  instance,  stand  in  close  proximity  the  teaching  of 
the  Saviour  and  the  peculiar  conduct  of  the  disciples,  the 
latter  evidently  following  the  former. 

On  the  second  occasion,  they  are  going  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem, wdien  Jesus  propounds  his  solemn  teaching.^  And 
the  very  next  thing  of  which  we  read,  in  Matthew^  and 
Mark,  is  the  request  of  James  and  John — made  for  them, 
as  appears  from  Matthew,  by  their  mother — that  they 
may  "  sit  the  one  on  his  right  hand  and  the  other  on  his 
left  in  his  kingdom,"  and  the  indignation  of  the  other 
ten  at  the  proceeding.  No  wonder  that  Jesus  admon- 
ishes the  ambitious  brothers  that  they  know  not  what 
they  ask,  and  at  once  speaks  of  the  cup  and  the  baptism 
of  sufferings  appointed  him.  And  again,  and  in  very 
impressive  language,  he  inculcates  the  lesson  of  humility. 

On  the  third  occasion,  the  time  of  his  appointed  suffer- 

*  Ch.  XIL  t  Matt.  xvii.  22,  23,  and  parallels. 

X  Matt.  XX.  17-19,  and  parallels. 


9G  HOURS    AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

ings  is  at  hand.  It  is  only  the  night  before  the  cruci- 
fixion. They  are  just  sitting  down  at  the  passover  table.* 
He  gives  them  very  express  intimations  of  the  near  ap- 
proach of  his  death.  He  declares,  "  With  desire  have  I 
desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  before  I  suffer." 
And  again,  as  we  read,  "  there  was  also  a  strife  among 
them,  wdiich  of  them  should  be  accounted  the  greatest." 
And  now  he  not  only  inculcates  the  lesson  of  humility, 
in  language  very  similar  to  that  employed  on  the  pre- 
ceding occasion,  but,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  subsequent  chap- 
ter, enforces  the  lesson  by  that  most  impressive  proceed- 
ino^,  in  which  he  takes  a  towel  and  basin  and  washes  his 
disciples'  feet.f 

jSTow,  can  we  think  that  this  fi-equent  and  invariable 
sequence  of  such  peculiar  conduct  upon  such  peculiar 
teaching,  was  wholly  fortuitous  ?  This  were  in  the  high- 
est degree  improbable.  AYe  are  almost  compelled  to 
think  that  the  one  was  the  natural  result  of  the  other. 
And  looking  to  ascertain,  if  we  may,  this  fact,  we  are  led 
into  a  more  impressive,  if  not  a  wholly  new  view,  of  the 
significance  of  these  portions  of  the  history. 

We  must  remember,  then,  that  it  was  the  settled  con- 
viction of  the  disciples,  that  their  Master  would  establish 
a  glorious  earthly  kingdom,  and  would  himself  reign 
upon  the  throne  of  David  his  father.  Whatever  else 
might  be  true,  this  to  their  minds  must  be  true.  What- 
ever was  inconsistent  with  this  belief  must  either  be  re- 
jected, or  must  be  modified  into  possible  harmony  with 
this.  Christ  might  tell  them  of  his  suffering  at  the  hands 
of  men,  of  his  rejection  and  crucifixion,  yet  this,  in  its 
obvious  meaning,  contradicting  their  settled  convictions, 

*  Luke  xxii.  14,  15,  24.  f  John  xiii.  1-20  ;  Ch.  XXVII. 


CONTENTIONS   AMONG   THE   TWELVE.  97 

woiit  with  them  for  Httle  or  nothing.  They  would  not 
deny  it,  yet  they  supposed  -it  must  be  understood  in  some 
hidden  and  fiourative  sense,  which  would  permit  them 
still  to  hold  their  old  notions.  It  must  nevertheless  be 
true,  that  Jesus  would  yet  cast  off  his  lowly  guise,  and 
take  to  himself  his  kingly  power,  and  realize  his  kingly 
character;  and  when  he  should  sit  on  his  magnificent 
throne,  they  would  be  honored  above  all  other  men  as 
his  chief  ministers. 

And,  in  the  several  teachings  of  Christ  concerning 
\\hat  was  awaiting  him  in  Jerusalem,  wdiile  they  failed 
to  perceive  the  true  meaning  of  the  Master's  language, 
they  saw  in  it  enough  to  convince  them  that  a  grand  crisis 
of  some  sort  was  at  hand.  And  whatever  else  might 
occur  to  him  in  this  crisis — whatever  his  strange  language 
might  mean,  concerning  his  betrayal,  his  crucifixion,  and 
his  resurrection — they  had  the  strongest  confidence  that 
in  the  crisis  he  w^ould  take  his  throne  and  begin  his  reign. 
He  would  at  that  time  "  restore  again  the  kingdom  unto 
Israel."  And  just  in  this  way,  Christ's  teachings,  even 
concerning  his  humiliation,  w^ould  set  them  ujjon  thoughts 
of  the  worldly  honors  which  they  should  enjoy  in  con- 
nection with  his  government,  and  occasion  disputings  for 
pre-eminence  in  these. 

As  confirmatory  of  this  view,  we  may  observe  that  the 
pre-eminence  which  the  disciples  aspired  after  is  constantly 
conceived  of  as  existing  "  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  or 
under  the  Messiah's  reign.  Thus,  on  the  first  three  oc- 
casions of  their  disputing,  the  controversy  does  not  relate 
to  pre-eminence  in  general.  They  ask  the  question, 
"  Who  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  .^"  And 
Jesus,  setting  the  little  child  m  the  midst  of  them,  teaches 
9  E 


98  HOURS    AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

tliem  that  they  must  humble  themselves  as  little  children 
in  order  to  "  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven^  (Matthew.) 
So  it  is  the  ambitious  request  of  James  and  John,  to 
sit,  the  one  on  his  right  hand  and  the  other  on  his  left, 
'Hn  Ms  hmgdom/^  (Matthew,)  or  "m  his  glory  J'  (Mark.) 
And,  as  partially  explaining  the  error  of  the  disciples, 
in  adhering  to  the  idea  of  a  glorious  worldly  kingdom 
for  the  Messiah,  and  of  honorable  positions  for  themselves 
in  that  kingdom,  even  in  spite  of  the  Saviour's  explicit 
instructions  concerning  his  sufferings,  we  may  observe 
that  our  Saviour  often  spoke  of  his  kingdom  and  his 
glory,  in  close  connection  w^th  his  teachings  concerning 
his  humiliation.  Thus,  after  his  first  announcement  of 
his  coming  sufferings,  and  his  notification  to  his  disciples 
of  the  necessity  of  their  taking  up  the  cross  and  following 
him,  he  adds,  "  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the 
glory  of  his  Father,  with  his  angels ;  and  then  shall  he 
reward  every  man  according  to  his  works.  Yerily  I  say 
unto  you,  there  be  some  standing  here,  which  shall  not 
taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  ^lan  coming  in 
his  kingdom."*  So,  just  before  the  first  of  the  three  oc- 
casions when  the  disciples  disputed  with  one  another, 
Jesus  had  spoken  of  the  illustrious  rewards  which  they 
should  receive  as  his  faithful  followers,  giving  them  the 
following  distinct  and  emphatic  assurance,  "  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  that  ye  which  have  followed  me  in  the  regen- 
eration, when  the  Son  of  JNIan  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of 
his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."t  And  at  the  passover  table, 
not  only  did  he  say,  "  With  desire  have  I  desired  to  eat 
this  passover  with  you  before  I  suffer,"  but  also,  "  I  will 

*  Matt.  xvi.  2r,  28,  and  parallels.      f  Matt.  xix.  27-30,  and  parallels. 


CONTENTIONS   AMONG    THE   TWELVE.  [)[) 

not  any  more  cat  thereof,  until  it  be  fulfilled  in  the  klii«r- 
doni  of  God,"  and  '^  I  will  not  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the 
vine  until  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  eome."* 

We  cannot,  then,  greatly  wonder  that  the  disciples 
failed  to  perceive  the  true  meaning  of  Christ's  predictions 
concerning  his  sufferings.  And,  failing  to  perceive  the 
true  meaning  of  these  predictions,  and  seeing  in  them 
only  the  tokens  of  a  great  revolution  at  hand,  we  cannot 
greatly  wonder  that,  with  their  previous  views  of  a  literal 
and  worldly  kingdom  of  God,  they  were,  with  each  new 
prediction  of  the  Saviour,  stirred  to  stronger  anticipations 
of  the  setting  up  of  such  a  kingdom,  and  to  ambitious 
desires  for  its  expected  honors. 

It  is  not  inconsistent  with  what  has  been  said,  to  sup- 
pose that,  in  each  case  of  the  contentions  of  the  disciples, 
there  was  something  in  the  circumstances  of  the  moment, 
as  well  as  in  the  fact  of  Christ's  recent  teaching,  which 
incited  them  to  controversy.  As,  in  the  second  case  pre- 
sented, the  conduct  of  James  and  John  provoked  the 
indignation  of  the  other  disciples,  so,  in  the  case  preceding 
it,  there  may  have  been  a  jealousy  existing  with  the  nine 
disciples,  for  the  peculiar  favor  shown  the  three  who  Avere 
chosen  to  attend  the  Saviour  on  the  mount  of  Transficx- 
uration.  Likewise,  in  the  case  following  it,  the  dispute 
may  have  begun  with  claims  for  positions  of  honor  at  the 
passover  table.  His  teaching  occasioned  their  specula- 
tions on  the  glorious  rewards  coming,  and  the  natural 
desire  for  a  superior  share  of  these  was  provoked  to  ex- 
press itself  by  the  jealousies  existing  at  the  time. 

*  Luke  xxii.  16,  18,  28-30. 


XVII. 

Condtict  of  the   TTnbelievi^vg  JBretJireti  of  Jesus;   as  seen  on   Ttvo 
Occasions. 

John  vii.  2-10;  Mark  iii.  20,  21,  31-35. 

For  eighteen  months,  as  is  commonly  estimated,  Jesus 
had  avoided  Jerusalem.  This  he  had  done,  because 
"the  Jews  sought  to  kill  him."  Meanwhile  he  had 
been  prosecuting  his  ministry  in  Gralilee  and  the  regions 
adjacent. 

The  feast  of  Tabernacles  is  now  to  be  celebrated,  yet, 
it  would  seem,  Jesus  shows  no  sign  of  leaving  his  present 
place.  He  is  quietly  remaining  in  Galilee,  while  all 
around  him  are  intent  on  the  festival  and  are  setting  out 
for  Jerusalem.  "  His  brethren  "  are  about  leaving,  and 
they  urge  him  to  go  likewise.  And  they  would  have 
him  appear  in  Jerusalem,  as  they  allege,  in  order  that  he 
may  publicly  exhibit  himself.  Galilee  was  but  an  ob- 
scure, outlying  province;  Jerusalem  was  the  great  national 
capital,  and  now  gathered  the  people  from  far  and  from 
near.  If  he  desired  to  make  himself  known  to  his 
countrymen,  it  was,  as  they  argued,  um-easonable  still  to 
avoid  publicity.  Eather  he  should  court  it.  He  should 
avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  feast,  at 
once  to  procure  the  national  recognition  of  his  claims. 
The  language  of  his  brethren  is,  "  Depart  hence,  and  go 
into  Judea,  that  thy  disciples  also  may  see  the  works  that 

100 


TIIH    IJRETIIRKN    OF   JESUS.  101 

thou  Joost.  For  there  is  no  man  that  doeth  anythin*^  in 
secret,  and  he  himself  seeketh  to  be  known  openly.  If 
thou  do  these  things,  show  thyself  unto  the  world."  We 
are  given,  further,  distinctly  to  understand  that  his  breth- 
ren did  not  credit  his  claims  to  be  a  high  messenger  from 
God,  and  that  their  remonstrance  with  him  at  this  time 
was  prompted  by  their  want  of  faith.  The  Evangelist 
adds,  "  For,  neither  did  his  brethren  believe  on  liimy 

This  remonstrance  of  the  bretlu^en  of  Jesus  has  been 
understood  in  a  variety  of  senses,  some  of  them  contradic- 
tory of ,  each  other.  One  class  of  commentators  regard  it 
in  its  most  obvious  sense,  as  expressive  of  a  sincere  de- 
sire that  Jesus  should  go  to  Jerusalem  and  "do  his  works 
in  the  temple,  and  before  the  priests  and  rultjrs;  because 
if  recognized  there,  he  would  be  everywhere  received." 
Another  class  regard  it  as  ironical  and  scornful,  as  ex- 
pressive of  contemptuous  skepticism,  as  taunting  him 
with  cowardice  in  not  venturing  himself  in  Jerusalem. 
Now,  what  is  the  proper  sense  of  the  language  of  the 
brethren  of  Jesus? 

This  passage  has  a  peculiar  interest  for  its  bearing  on 
that  most  perplexing  question,  whether  the  persons  named 
as  James  and  Simon  and  Judas,  in  the  catalogues  of  the 
Twelve,  were  identical  with  the  persons  of  the  same  name 
spoken  of  as  our  Lord's  brethren.*  It  does  not  belong 
to  our  present  purpose  to  discuss  this  question.  Rather 
we  would  interpret  the  passage,  without  reference  to  it. 
And  we  would  interpret  the  passage  mainly  in  the  light 
of  the  history,  and  especially  in  the  light  of  the  con- 
duct of  these  same  brethren  as  exhibited  on  a  former 
occasion. 

*  Luke  vi.  15,  16;  Matt.  xiii.  55. 
9  * 


102  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

His  brethren,  then,  "did  not  believe  on  him."  With- 
out insisting  now  on  the  precise  import  of  these  words, 
we  may  give  their  general  meaning,  as  made  probable  by 
the  whole  history,  on  this  wise. — They  held  him  in  sin- 
cere esteem  as  a  near  relative  who  was  wholly  inoffensive, 
and  in  the  highest  degree  pure  and  loving,  but  they  dis- 
credited his  claims  to  be  a  mighty  prophet.  Having 
grown  up  in  his  company,  being  thoroughly  familiar 
with  him  in  his  earthly  relations,  they  failed  to  recognize 
in  him  what  was  Divinely  extraordinary.  They  verified  the 
proverb,  used  by  our  Saviour,  "A  prophet  is  not  without 
honor,  but  in  his  own  country,  and  among  his  own  kin, 
and  in  his  own  house."  And  therefore  they  did  not  at- 
tend upon  his  ministry.  They  remained  at  Nazareth, 
while  he  was  abroad  performing  his  wonderful  works, 
and  uttering  his  wonderful  words.  ISTow,  supposing  that 
their  want  of  faith  in  him  was  of  this  sort,  are  we  to  be- 
lieve that,  on  the  occasion  before  us,  they  sought  to  force 
Jesus  upon  greater  publicity;  or  is  it  more  probable  that 
they  sought  to  withdraw  him  even  from  the  publicity  in 
which  he  already  lived?  The  conduct  of  these  brethren, 
as  once  before  shown,  may  help  in  the  answering  of  this 
question.     And  what  was  that  conduct? 

Jesus  had  fully  entered  on  his  Gralilean  ministry.  He 
was  journeying  from  place  to  place,  attended  by  a  great 
throng,  working  his  mightiest  miracles  and  everywhere 
proclaiming  the  word.  "His  friends"  hear  of  it.  The 
fame  of  his  doings  penetrates  to  Nazareth,  where  they 
seem  to  be  remaining — in  strange  apathy  and  unbelief. 
They  hear  particularly  of  the  excited  multitudes  who  be- 
siege him  at  every  moment.  What  they  hear  rouses 
their   latent  suspicions,   that   his   enthusiasm   has  now 


THE   BRETHREN    OF   JESUS.  103 

mounted  to  the  height  of  positive  insanity.  And  their 
thought  is,  that  it  is  time  for  them  to  interfere  and  put  a 
stop  to  his  proceedings.  The  language  of  the  record  is, 
"And  the  multitude  comcth  together  again,  so  that  they 
could  not  so  much  as  eat  bread.  And  when  his  friends 
heard  of  it,  they  went  out  to  lay  hold  on  him :  for  they 
said.  He  is  beside  himself."*  Thus  setting  out,  they  by- 
and-by  reach  the  place  where  he  is  teaching,  where  the 
multitude  is  so  vast  and  dense  that  they  cannot  get  access 
to  him.  And  now  we  are  informed  just  who  these 
"friends"  are.  The  word  is  passed  to  him,.  "Behold 
thy  mother,  and  thy  brethren  stand  without,  desiring  to 
speak  with  thee."t 

Here,  then,  is  another  glimpse  of  "his  brethren." 
They  are  unbelieving;  and  what  are  they  doing?  AYliy 
they  are  seeking  to  recall  him  from  pMicity,  and  bring 
him  to  retirement. 

This  being  the  case,  how  can  we  think  that  farther  on 
in  his  ministry,  they,  remaining  in  the  same  state  of 
mind  toward  him — still  unbelieving — should  urge  an 
opposite  course  upon  him?  How  can  we  think  that  he 
being  comparatively  quiet  in  Galilee,  they  should  really 
desire  him  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  and  act  the  part  of  a  pro- 
fessed prophet  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  nation? 
Does  it  not  rather  seem,  that  now,  while  he  was  com- 
paratively quiet,  they  regarded  it  as  a  favorable  time  to 
approach  him  again,  and  to  renew  the  attempt  to  disen- 
chant him  of  his  delusions  concerning  himself,  and  to 
dissuade  him  from  further  following  his  strange  manner 
of  life? 

*  Mark  iii.  20,  21.  f  ^^^^rk  iii.  32. 


104  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

This  interpretation,  suggested  by  the  history,  admira- 
bly falls  in  with  the  language  of  the  brethren,  closing 
their  remonstrance;  "i/*  thou  do  these  things,  show  thy- 
self to  the  world."  How  naturally  does  this  form  of  ex- 
pression suggest  the  alternative,  that  it  would  be  wise  for 
him  not  to  "do  these  things!"  How  naturally  does  it 
suggest  the  thought  that  the  exposure  of  himself  in  Je- 
rusalem is  proposed  by  his  brethren,  only  as  an  argu- 
ment to  enforce  the  necessity  of  his  quitting  public  life 
altogether ! 

This,  then,  is  our  view  of  the  passage  in  question. 
The  unbelieving  brethren  of  Jesus,  in  their  remonstrance 
with  him,  endeavored  to  show  the  inconsistency  of  his 
course  in  remaining  away  from  Jerusalem,  with  his  claim 
to  be  a  prophet  of  God.  And  this  they  did,  not  with  the 
desire  of  having  him  go  to  Jerusalem  and  there  assert 
his  claim,  but  with  the  hope  of  inducing  him  to  re- 
nounce his  assumed  character  altogether.  They  meant 
to  persuade  him  that  his  very  dread  of  appearing  in  Je- 
rusalem was  conclusive  proof  of  his  not  being  a  mighty 
prophet. 

We  may  regard  their  language  as  not  that  of  scorn, 
but  that  of  kind  rebuke.  It  is  as  if  they  had  said,  "You 
profess  to  be  sent  of  God,  perhaps  to  be  the  Messiah 
himself.  Yet  you  do  not  venture  to  submit  your  claims 
to  a  public  test.  You  do  not  place  yourself  where  you 
can  realize  your  vocation.  If  yours  is  a  Divine  mission 
to  your  countrymen,  you  need  to  go  before  them,  at  the 
National  Capital  and,  in  the  most  public  manner,  vindi- 
cate and  discharge  that  mission.  This  you  refuse  to  do. 
You  have  assumed  a  character  which  you  cannot  main- 
tain.    Now  our  advice  is,  either  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem 


THE    BRETHREN    OF   JESUS.  105 

at  once,  and  make  good  your  claim  and  perform  your 
prophetic  work;  or,  still  unwilling  to  undertake  this,  to 
abandon  these  wild  notions  concerning  yourself,  and 
this  strange  manner  of  conduct,  and  come  home  to  so- 
ber life." 


xvm. 

OChe  JLllegonj  of  the  Good  SJiepherd ;  as  connected  tvitJi  the  Sealing 
of  the  Man  horn  blitul, 

John  ix. ;  x. 

The  division  of  tlie  sacred  writings  into  chapters, 
while  convenient  for  reference,  is  often  unhappy  in  break- 
ing up  connections  in  thought.  We  can  hardly  help 
feeling  that  what  has  always  been  presented  us,  and  has 
been  read  by  us,  in  separate  chapters,  is  disconnected  in 
sense.  Thus  we  sometimes  miss  the  continuity  of  thought 
preserved  in  successive  chapters,  and  fail  to  see  the  con- 
tents of  one  chapter  in  the  light  which  its  neighbor  might 
throw  upon  it. 

These  observations  apply  emphatically  to  the  division 
of  John's  gospel  between  the  ninth  and  tenth  chapters. 
The  latter  opens  with  the  allegory  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 
And  inasmuch  as  this  begins  a  new  chapter,  many  per- 
sons fail  to  perceive  that  it  has  any  connection  with  what 
precedes.  Yet  the  allegory  was,  in  all  probability,  di- 
rectly occasioned  by  the  events  detailed  in  the  previous 
chapter,  and  is  all  the  more  forcible  w^hen  viewed  in 
their  light.     Let  us  see. 

The  ninth  chapter  is  chiefly  occupied  with  an  account 
of  the  man  blind  from  his  birth,  who  was  healed  by 
Jesus.  The  Saviour  was  now  in  Jerusalem.  The  time 
is  subsequent  to  the  feast  of  tabernacles.     From  Galilee 

106 


THE    (J ODD    SHEPHERD.  107 

he  has  come  siuldeiily,  during  the  feast,  into  the  midst 
of  the  gathered  multitudes,  and  is  now  openly  vindicat- 
ing his  high  claims  to  Divine  Sonship  and  Messiahslii[) 
against  the  determined  and  tierce  opposition  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  nation.  AVhen  he  encounters  the  blind  man,  who 
is  the  prominent  person  in  this  chapter,  he  has  just 
avoided  being  stoned  by  the  Jews  in  the  temple.  No 
sooner  is  he  out  of  their  reach,  than  he  begins  his  labors 
anew,  saying,  "  I  must  work  the  works  of  him  that  sent 
me,  while  it  is  day  :  the  night  cometh,  when  no  man 
can  work." 

All  are  feimiliar  with  the  outline  of  narrative  follow- 
ing ;  how  Jesus,  anointing  the  eyes  of  the  man,  sends 
him  to  wash  in  the  pool  of  Si  loam,  which  results  in  his 
cure ;  how  the  man's  neighbors,  disputing  among  them- 
selves concerning  his  identity  and  his  cure,  bring  him 
to  the  Pharisees ;  how  these  interrogate,  first  the  man 
and  then  his  parents,  regarding  the  whole  matter ;  how, 
when  the  Pharisees  denounce  Jesus,  the  man  takes 
ground  in  favor  of  him,  arguing  his  Divine  mission ; 
and  how,  at  last,  the  incensed  and  scornful  Pharisees 
pass  upon  the  man  the  dread  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion from  the  synagogue  and  banish  him  from  their 
company  as  unclean  and  vile.  And  few  stories  of  life, 
either  inspired  or  uninspired,  so  stir  our  manly  sympa- 
thies, as  does  this  account  of  a  poor  beggar  just  emerging 
from  life-long  blindness,  Avho,  confronted  with  the  mag- 
nates of  the  land  singly  and  alone,  deserted  even  by  his 
own  parents,  harried  with  examinations  and  cross-ex- 
aminations, and  hearing  his  benefactor  foully  calumni- 
ated— the  account  of  this  man,  in  these  circumstances, 
maintaining  an   unbroken,  fearless,  cheerful  spirit,  and, 


108  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

•with  blunt  words  of  honest  indignation,  tearing  in  pieces 
the  sophistries  of  his  teachers,  hurling  back  their  vile 
imputations  cast  upon  his  benefactor — stoutly  maintain- 
ing his  Divine  mission ;  thus,  utterly  regardless  of  per- 
sonal consequences,  exasperating  them  to  fury. 

Yet  the  condition  of  the  man,  now  driven  from  the 
synagogue  and  from  society,  is  indeed  deplorable. 
"What  will  become  of  him?  Who  will  befriend 
him  ?  Faithful,  where  so  many  are  faithless,  shall  he 
have  no  reward  ?  A  true  sheep  of  the  flock  of  Israel, 
shall  he  be  left  to  wander,  unsheltered  and  unguided, 
amidst  the  wilds  -upon  which  he  is  cast  ?  Not  so.  A 
friend  is  at  hand.     A  good  Shepherd  is  near. 

At  the  time  of  his  working  this  miracle,  Jesus  was 
retreating  from  his  enemies  for  safety.  And  for  a  while 
he  remains  aloof.  But  when  he  hears  that  the  man  has 
been  cast  out,  he  goes  in  quest  of  him,  at  all  hazards. 
All  along,  no  doubt,  he  had  well  known  what  was  going 
on,  and  was  in  lively  sympathy  with  his  new  disciple,  so 
nobly  confessing  him.  "  Perhaps  in  secret  he  was  utter- 
ing, '  with  strong  crying  and  tears,'  the  words  of  the  pro- 
phetic psalm,  '  Let  not  them  that  wait  on  thee,  O  Lord 
God  of  hosts,  be  ashamed  for  my  sake ;  let  none  that 
seek  thee  be  confounded  for  my  sake,  O  God  of  Israel : 
because  for  thy  sake  I  have  borne  reproach,  .  .  .  and  the 
reproaches  of  them  that  reproached  thee  are  fallen  upon 
me.'  "*  And  in  the  young  man  "  were  to  be  fulfilled  in 
a  very  eminent  sense  those  words,  '  Blessed  are  ye  when 
men  shall  hate  you,  and  when  they  shall  separate  you 
from  their  company,  and  shall  reproach  you,  and  cast 
out  your  name  as  evil  for  the  Son  of  Man's  sake.'     He 

*  Prof.  Brown's  Notes  on  the  Gospels. 


THE   GOOD    SUEPHERD.  100 

is  cast  out  of  the  meaner  fellowship,  to  be  received  into  a 
liigher.  '  Mlien  my  father  and  my  mother  forsake  me, 
the  Lord  will  take  me  up.'  "*  "  Man's  extremity  is 
God's  opportunity,"  and  at  the  darkest  moment  of  the 
man's  trial,  Jesus  comes  upon  him,  reveals  himself  as  his 
benefactor  and  the  Son  of  God,  and  takes  the  outcast  to 
fellowship  with  himself. 

Now  it  is  in  close  connection  with  this  whole  proceed- 
ing, a  proceeding  which  in  the  strongest  manner  exhibits 
both  the  Jewish  Rulers,  as  exerting  their  authority  to 
the  destruction  of  God's  true  people,  and  the  Lord  Jesus, 
as  acting  the  part  of  a  Saviour  and  Comforter  to  such, 
that  Jesus  utters  his  famous  allegory,  in  which  he  pro- 
claims himself  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  characterizes  those 
who  have  preceded  him,  as  hirelings,  thieves,  and  robbers. 
And  does  not  this  whole  representation  become  emphatic, 
in  view  of  the  foregoing  proceeding  ?  How  true,  as  seen 
in  the  case  of  the  blind  man  and  the  Saviour,  that  the 
"  sheep  hear  his  voice,"  and  that  "  he  calleth  his  ow^n 
sheep  by  name  and  leadeth  them  out."  How  true,  as 
seen  in  the  conduct  of  the  Rulers  toward  the  blind  man, 
that  "  the  thief  cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal,  and  to  kill, 
and  to  destroy." 

*  Trench  on  the  Miracles. 
10 


XIX. 

The   Bequest,  "  Zord,   suffer   me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  Father  f* 
by  whom  made,  and  ti'Jiy  refused. 

Matt.  viii.  21,  22;  Luke  ix.  59,  60. 

Professor  Blunt,  in  his  "Undesigned  Coinci- 
dences/' from  a  comparison  of  passages  in  Matthew's 
gospel,  infers  that  this  request  came  from  one  of  the  sons 
of  Zebedee.  The  request  was  certainly  made  by  one  "  of 
his  disciples;^'  for  this  is  expressly  stated;  but  whether 
the  word  "disciples"  is  here  to  be  taken  in  the  strict 
sense  of  Apostles,  or  the  wider  sense  of  the  Seventy,  or  in 
the  still  more  general  sense  of  all  believers,  we  must 
judge  from  the  circumstances. 

Prof  Blunt  argues  that  this  disciple  was  one  of  the 
sons  of  Zebedee,  from  the  fact  that  befoi^e  this  Zebedee  is 
mentioned  as  living — James  and  John,  at  the  time  of 
their  call  to  the  Apostleship,  being  spoken  of  as  "in  a 
ship  with  Zebedee  their  father;"  Avhile  after  this,  the 
narrative  implies  that  Zebedee  was  dead — the  mother  of 
James  and  John  beuig  spoken  of,  not  as  the  wife  of 
Zebedee,  but  as  "the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children."* 

Almost  fearing,  lest  he  should  subject  himself  to  the 
charge  of  over-refinement,  the  Professor  ventures  to  infer 
"  that  the  death  of  Zebedee  is  here  alluded  to,  [that  is, 
in  the  above  request,]  and  that  St.  Matthew,  without  a 

*  Compare  Matt.  iv.  21 ;  xx.  20  ;  xxvn.  56. 
110 


THE   UNSEASONABLE   REQUEST.  HI 

wish,  perhaps,  or  thought^  either  to  conceal  or  express 
the  individual,  (for  there  seems  no  assignable  motive  for 
his  studying  to  do  cither,)  betrays  an  event  familiar  to 
his  own'mind,  in  that  inadvertent  and  unobtrusive  man- 
ner in  wliich  the  truth  so  often  comes  out." 

Our  Saviour's  refusal  of  the  disciple's  request,  and  the 
peculiar  language  in  which  it  was  couched,  "let  the  dead 
bury  their  dead,"  have  occasioned  commentators  much 
difficulty.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  such  a  request 
would  seem  perfectly  proper.  It  would  be  made,  indeed, 
as  the  dictate  of  filial  piety.  Why,  then,  was  it  now  re- 
fused? A  recent  judicious  expositor  writes  thus;  "The 
reply  of  our  Lord  to  the  young  man's  request  seems 
harsh,  but  he  must  have  had  special  reasons  for  answer- 
ing thus  unknown  to  us."*  A  further  study  of  this  pas- 
sage, in  its  various  relations,  elicits,  we  think,  a  confirma- 
tion of  Blunt's  view  just  given,  and  at  the  same  time 
helps  us  in  the  conjecture  of  those  "special  reasons" 
which  dictated  the  Saviour's  reply. 

Turning  to  the  parallel  passage  in  Luke,  we  find  that 
while  it  is  not  there  stated  that  the  request  came  from 
one  "of  the  disciples,"  the  reply  of  our  Saviour  indicates 
that  it  did  come  from  one  who  was  formally  and  officially 
attached  to  his  ministry.  The  reply  is,  "  Let  the  dead 
bury  their  dead,  but  go  thou  and  preach  the  MngdomJ^ 
The  person  was  evidently  an  ordained  ambassador  of 
Christ.  Further,  that  the  disciple  was  one  of  the  Twelve, 
rather  than  one  of  the  Seventy,  seems  probable,  from  the 
fiict  that,  at  the  time  the  request  was  made,  the  Seventy 
had  not  yet  been  commissioned.t     Still  further,  that  the 

»  Rev.  Dr.  Nast.     Commentary  on  Matthew  and  Mark, 
f  Luke  X.  1. 


112  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

disciple  was  one  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  is  suggested  by 
the  fact  that  James  and  John  are  mentioned  by  Luke  in 
close  connection  with  the  request,  and  at  a  time  when,  as 
it  appears,  the  Twelve  had  been  sent  out  to  prepare  the 
Avay  for  our  Saviour's  progress  toward  Jerusalem.  James 
and  John  seem  to  have  been  the  two  disciples  who  en- 
countered the  ill  reception  at  the  hands  of  the  Samari- 
tiins,  going  thence  to  make  report  to  their  Master,  and 
proposing  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  as  Elias  did. 
They  were  probably  alone  with  the  blaster  at  the  time, 
the  rest  of  the  Twelve  being  absent  upon  the  important 
work  recently  assigned  them.  Close  upon  this  incident 
comes  the  request  under  discussion,  as  though  offered  by 
one  of  these  disciples. 

Yet  the  inquiry  is  still  more  interesting,  why  did  the 
Saviour  refuse  the  request?  What  were  his  "special 
reasons  ?"  If  we  may  suppose  that  Luke,  rather  than 
Matthew,  records  this  incident  in  its  true  chronological 
order,  we  may  find  the  answer  to  this  inquiry  in  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  of  the  Saviour  and  of  his  disciples  at 
the  time  the  request  was  made.^ 

*  There  is  no  good  reason  for  not  regarding  this  incident  as  recorded  in 
its  proper  place  by  Luke.  Matthew  gives  it  as  if  occurring  at  a  much 
earlier  period  of  our  Lord's  ministry;  recording  it,  as  Luke  also  does,  in 
connection  with  the  incident  of  the  man  saying  to  Christ,  '*I  will  follow 
thee  whithersoever  thou  goest,"  to  whom  the  Saviour  responds,  "  The 
foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head,"  Luke  gives,  also,  a  third  similar  inci- 
dent, omitted  by  Matthew.  The  Harmonists  have  been  much  perplexed 
in  choosing  between  the  Evangelists,  and  some  of  them  have  gone  so  far 
as  to  suppose  that  the  very  same  incidents  occurred  twice,  at  the  times 
severally  mentioned  by  the  two  writers. 

Our  view  is  this :  The  order,  as  given  by  eacJi  of  the  writers  is  the  order 
of  actual  occurrence,  so  far  as  some  one  of  the  incidents  is  concerned.  Prob- 
ably the  interview  with  Jesus  of  "  the  Scribe/'  to  whom  Jesus  declared, 


THE  UNSEASONABLE  REQUEST.         113 

Just  now,  our  Saviour  was  about  starting  from  Galilee 
to  Jerusalem.     On  the  way,  he  intended  to  employ  him- 
self in  such  thorough  labors  as  he  had  already  performed 
in  Galilee,  where  he   "went   about   all"    the   country, 
"  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel 
of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness." 
To  flicilitate  his  plan,  he  made  use  of  his  Apostles  as  her- 
alds, sending  them  out  along  the  whole  front  of  his  ad- 
vance, preaching  the  kingdom  of  God.     Shortly  before 
the  incident  in  question  is  narrated,  we  have  the  following 
statement ;  "  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  time  was 
come  that  he  should  be  received  up,  he  steadfastly  set  his 
face  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  sent  messengers  before 
his  face."*     These  messengers,  who  were  probably  the 
Apostles  only,  were  not,  it  appears,  sufficient  for  the  whole 
work  of  making  ready  for  him,  which  he  now  desired  to 
have   performed.     For  we   read   presently,  that  "after 
these  things,  the  Lord  appointed  other  Seventy  also,  and 
sent  them  two  and  two  before  his  face,  into  every  city 
and  place,  whither  he  himself  would  come."t     Indeed, 
even  this  number  was  found  to  be  painfully  inadequate 
to  the  required  work ;  for  our  Lord  immediately  after 

"  The  foxes  have  holes,"  etc.,  occurred  at  the  time  indicated  by  Matthew, 
when  Jesus  was  about  to  embark  for  the  farther  side  of  the  lake.  And 
probably  the  similar  incidents,  first,  of  the  disciple  who  desired  to  go  and 
bury  his  father,  and  secondly,  of  another  who  wished  to  go  and  bid  fare- 
well to  his  friends  at  home,  occurred  at  the  time  indicated  by  Luke.  It 
would  be  altogether  natural  for  an  Evangelist,  in  recording  an  incident 
occurring  at  a  specified  time,  to  associate  with  it  a  similar  incident  occur- 
ring at  a  different  time. 

It  may  be  added  that  Prof.  Blunt's  argument,  as  stated  above,  is  not 
impaired  by  the  supposition  that  Luke,  rather  than  Matthew,  has  recorded 
the  incident  in  question  in  its  true  chronological  order. 

*  Luke  ix.  51,  52.  t  x.  1- 

10  -^ 


114  HOURS   AMONa   THE   GOSPELS. 

thus  speaks ;  "  The  harvest  truly  is  great,  but  the  labor- 
ers are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest, 
that  he  would  send  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest."* 
And  that  his  disciples  were  to  "  preach  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  we  learn  from  the  commission  given  to  the  Sev- 
enty ;  the  only  thing  which  they  were  specifically  com- 
manded to  say  being  this,  "  The  kingdom  of  God  is  come 
nigh  unto  you."t 

Such,  then,  were  the  circumstances  under  which  one 
"  of  the  disciples "  made  the  request  that  he  might  be 
permitted  to  go  and  bury  his  father.  Whether  or  not 
this  disciple  was  one  of  the  Twelve,  being  one  who  had 
accepted  the  commission  to  "preach  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  and  offering  his  request  at  the  precise  time  that 
there  was  an  urgent  and  indispensable  need  for  this 
preaching,  "  the  special  reasons  "  of  the  Master  for  refus- 
ing what,  in  the  case  of  another,  or  in  the  case  of  this 
person  at  another  time,  might  have  been  granted,  seem 
sufficiently  disclosed.  Just  now,  it  would  be  a  forsaking 
of  the  service  of  Christ,  for  one  of  his  disciples  to  leave 
him  on  such  an  errand.  Just  here,  a  test  of  the  disciple's 
paramount  devotion  was  reached.     Jesus'  words  must 

-■'•  Luke  X.  2. 

f  Luke  X.  9.  We  follow  Robinson's  Harmony  wlienever  practicable.  In 
this  part  of  t  he  history,  we  have  felt  compelled  to  deviate  from  it.  We  would 
place  our  Lord's  final  departure  from  Galilee  and  the  sending  out  of  the  Sev- 
enty, subsequent  to  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  (John  vii.  2.)  For  an  admirable 
discussion  of  the  chronology  here,  see  '*  The  Life  of  our  Lord  upon  the 
Earth ;  considered  in  its  Historical,  Chronological,  and  Geographical  Re- 
lations," by  Samuel  J.  Andrews.  Mr.  Andrews  very  justly  remarks,  after 
a  discussion  concerning  our  Lord's  last  journey  to  Jerusalem,  that  if  the 
character  of  this  journey  *'be  correctly  stated,  it  is  apparent  that  to  the 
mission  of  the  Seventy  a  much  greater  importance  must  be  given  than  has 
usually  been  done  by  Commentators  and  Harmonists." 


THE  UNSEASONABLE  REQUEST.         115 

now  receive  their  illustration,  "  lie  that  lovcth  father  or 
mother  more  than  mc,  is  not  wortliy  of  nie." 

And  well  might  the  disciple  commit  even  the  burying 
of  his  father  to  such  as  had  lussumed  no  obligations  which 
would  interfere  with  the  performance  of  that  Avork. 
Those  who  sustainal  no  living  relations  to  the  kingdom 
of  God — those  "dead" — might  be  left  to  "bury  their 
dead.'' 


XX. 

Christ  JBeJiolding  the  Toung  Hitler;  as  illustrated  by  Bis  turning 
and  lookinff  on  Peter. 

Mark  x.  21 ;  Luke  xxii.  61. 

The  first  three  Evangelists  narrate  the  incident  of 
Christ's  interview  with  the  young  Euler.  Each  writer 
mentions  certain  particulars  omitted  by  the  others.  The 
circumstance  referred  to  in  the  title  of  this  chapter,  is 
given  by  Mark  alone.  In  the  midst  of  his  narrative, 
Mark  writes,  "  Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved  him." 

In  order  that  this  circumstance  may  appear  in  full 
relief,  let  us  review  the  accounts  of  the  writers  up  to  the 
point  at  which  it  is  introduced,  with  some  endeavor  to 
understand  the  meaning  of  our  Saviour's  procedure  as 
therein  set  forth. 

Matthew,  at  the  outset,  is  very  indefinite;  "And  be- 
hold, one  came  and  said  unto  him."  Mark  tells  us 
where  Jesus  was.  He  has  informed  us  before  of  Jesus 
being  "in  the  house,"  where  he  had  blessed  the  little 
children.*  Now  "he  was  gone  forth  into  the  way," 
probably  having  resumed  his  journey  toward  Jerusalem. 

The  action  of  the  person  approaching  the  Saviour,  is 
also  described  by  Mark.  "  There  came  one  running  and 
kneeled  to  him."  Luke  informs  us  that  this  person  wa, 
"a  certain  ruler, ^^  one  occupying  an  important  ecclesiastical 

*  Vs.  10,  13. 
116 


Christ's  look  of  pity.  117 

position,  and  it  ilills  ont  afterward,  in  Matthew's  account, 
that  he  was  a  "  young  man." 

His  greiit  question  and  its  answer  receive  substantially 
the  same  record,  in  all  the  accounts.  Addressin*^  tlie 
Saviour  as  "  Good  Master,"  he  asks  what  he  shall  do  tha. 
he  may  inherit  eternal  life.  Jesus,  after  an  intimation 
that  the  young  man's  conceptions  of  spiritual  excellence 
are  superficial  and  unworthy,  answers  his  question  by 
referring  him  to  the  law.  "  And  Jesus  said  unto  him, 
why  callest  thou  me  good  ?  There  is  none  good  but  one, 
that  is  God.  Thou  knowest  the  commandments :  Do 
not  commit  adultery.  Do  not  kill.  Do  not  steal,  Do  not 
bear  false  witness.  Defraud  not,  Honor  thy  father  and 
mother."  (Mark.)  Only  Matthew  records  the  question 
of  the  ruler,  "which"  of  the  commandments?  in  response 
to  which  the  preceding  enumeration  is  given ;  Matthew 
adding,  "  and  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

The  Master  sends  the  ruler  to  the  law,  not  to  leave 
him  there,  but  to  lead  him  thence.  Jesus  will  first  dis- 
cover to  the  ruler  his  self-righteous  spirit,  and  then  bring 
him  to  see  and  feel  that  the  law,  instead  of  aifording  any 
encouragement  to  such  a  spirit,  on  the  contrary  convicts 
of  sin  and  argues  the  need  of  a  Saviour. 

The  question  of  the  young  man,  "which"  of  the 
commandments,  shows  that  he  regarded  obedience  to  the 
law,  as  a  formal  compliance  of  conduct  with  the  letter  of 
the  several  precepts,  rather  than  a  conformity  of  heart  to 
the  principles  underlying  all  the  precepts. 

Jesus "  enumerates  the  commandments  of  the  Second 
table  of  the  law,  rather  than  the  First,  we  may  su})pose, 
either  because  these  afforded  the  easier  test  of  character, 
or  because  the  ruler's  attention  had  all  along  been  chiefly 


lis  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

directed  to  these,  and  he  had  come  to  pride  himself  on 
his  unexceptionable  performance  of  social  duties. 

And  now  is  brought  from  him  that  confession  of  his 
self-righteous  confidence  and  hope,  which,  doubtless,  the 
Saviour  from  the  first  intended  to  elicit,  a  confession 
made,  as  we  have  every  reason  to  think,  in  all  sincerity 
and  with  no  little  self-gratulation,  "  All  these  have  I  kept 
from  my  youth  up."  Having  recognized  in  the  Galilean 
teacher,  one  who  had  great  discernment  and  skill  in  re- 
ligious things,  the  young  ruler  had  evidently  come  to 
him  for  a  confirmation  of  present  hopes,  rather  than  for 
any  new  light  concerning  the  way  of  life.  He  has  now 
apparently  received  his  desire,  and  having  declared  his 
faithful  observance  of  the  law,  he  sounds  the  challenge 
as  of  triumph,  ""What  lack  I  yet?"  This  is  re- 
corded by  Matthew  alone,  yet  is  implied  by  both  the 
others. 

Thus  has  the  young  man  declared  his  whole  heart. 
He  stands  before  the  Saviour  fully  revealed.  It  is  a  time 
of  intense  interest.  The  Master's  soul  has  been  kindling 
with  all  pure  and  pitying  affections,  in  proportion  as  the 
false  hopes  of  the  ruler  have  been  gaining  strength  and 
encouragement.*     In  faithfulness  Jesus  must  now  sorely 

*■  The  intense  interest  with  which  the  Saviour  entered  into  the  case  of 
the  ruler,  is  further  evident  from  the  energetic  expressions  which  he  uses 
when  the  ruler  withdraws.  As  if  viewing  with  profound  sorrow  and  indig- 
nation the  ruinous  influence  of  a  love  of  wealth,  he  utters  one  astounding 
exclamation  after  another — "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God !"  "  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the 
eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God !" 
"With  men  this  is  impossible." 

Some  of  the  Commentators  regard  the  question,  ''What  lack  I  yet?"  as 
indicative  of  the  feeling  of  uneasiness  and  doubt,  on  the  part  of  the  ruler, 
and  of  a  sincere  desire  to  be  more  fully  instructed  in  the  way  of  life. 


Christ's  look  of  pity.  119 

diyappoiiit  and  grieve  his  questioner.  He  must  dissipate 
Jiis  cherished  self-deceptions.  He  must,  with  a  single 
breath,  blow  upon  his  life-long  hopes,  and  blast  them  for- 
ever. He  will  open  the  true  way  to  eternal  life,  but  how 
narrow  is  that  way — how  self-denying — perhaps  too  much 
so  for  the  disappointed  one  to  be  willing  to  enter  it. 

AVe  might  have  inferred  that  at  this  point  Jesus  would 
be  deliberate  in  his  utterances.  AYe  might  have  known 
that  he  would  not  rudely  or  violently  tear  away  from  the 
young  ruler  even  the  unworthy  hopes  with  which  he  had 
deluded  himself.  And  this,  which  we  might  have  in- 
ferred, is  distinctly  intimated  by  the  Evangelist  Mark. 

Nay  more,  not  only  was  there  a  solemn  pause  in  the 
conversation,  not  only  did  the  eager  question,  "What 
lack  I  yet?"  remain  for  a  moment  unanswered,  but  that 
moment  was  occupied  by  the  Saviour  in  a  most  signifi- 
cant manner.  He  turned  Jiimself  in  full  upon  the  young 
man  and  earnestly  surveyed  Jiim ;  "  Then  Jesus  beholding 
him." 

And  here  it  is  that  we  would  adduce  the  passage  from 
the  history  of  Peter's  denials  of  his  Master.  Would  we 
know  how  unutterably  and  thrill  ingly  significant  was 
the  look  of  Jesus,  we  may  judge  of  it  from  the  case  of 
Peter.*  What  volumes  of  pity  and  reproach  must  have 
been  spoken,  when  "the  Lord  turned,  and  looked  upon 
Peter,"  to  have  instantly  brought  the  disciple  to  full  re- 
collection, and  flooded  his  heart  with  penitent  griefs,  and 

(Lange,  Stier,  Nast,  and  others.)  This,  we  think,  does  not  so  well  ac- 
cord with  his  subsequent  conduct,  in  which  he  rejects  the  Saviour's  pre- 
scription. 

*  The  word  "beholding,"  in  Mark  x.  21,  is,  in  the  Greek,  a  participle 
of  the  ««'ne  verb  translated  "looked,"  in  Luke  xxii.  61. 


120  HOURS    AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

sent  him  forth  into  the  lonely  night  with  tears  of  bitter 
weeping.  And  although  the  look  of  Jesus,  in  the  case 
of  the  young  ruler,  may  not  have  had  precisely  the  same, 
yet  it  doubtless  had  an  equal  significance.  And  as  we 
know,  from  the  conduct  of  Peter,  what  was  the  peculiar 
meaning  of  the  Saviour's  look  in  his  case,  so  we  know, 
from  the  record  itself,  what  was  the  peculiar  meaning  of 
the  look  which  Jesus  gave  the  young  ruler.  For  Mark 
writes,  "Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved  him  J'  The 
volumes  now  spoken  were  of  pity  and  compassion.  The 
soul  of  Jesus  yearned  upon  this  young  man,  so  sincere, 
so  upright,  so  deferential  to  himself,  so  concerned  for  his 
eternal  prospects,  yet  so  fatally  mistaken.  In  that  look 
perhaps,  the  young  man,  stirred  with  strange  and  pro- 
found emotions,  read  the  coming  answer  of  the  Master. 
So  did  it  penetrate  and  subdue  his  soul,  that  when  the 
answer  came,  he  had  no  disposition  to  question  or  resist 
its  truth.  He  silently  submitted  to  the  terrible  loss  of  all 
his  hopes  of  heaven,  being  still  more  deeply  attached  to 
his  great  worldly  possessions.* 

Jesus'  answer  is,  "One  thing  thou  lackest,"  bidding 
him  distribute  his  goods  to  the  poor,  and  engage  in  the 
self-denying  life  of  a  disciple.  Matthew  writes,  "If 
thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give 


*  "  The  Spirit  who  accompanied  the  words  of  Jesus  had  deeply  pene 
trated  his  heart,  had  enlightened  the  darkness  within,  had  revealed  to  him 
the  true,  though  hitherto  entirely  unknown,  way  of  regeneration,  and  so  he 
found  himself  taken  prisoner  by  the  power  of  the  truth.  But  the  chain 
which  he  carried  was  too  heavy,  he  could  not  call  forth  within  his  heart 
that  free  determinate  choice  in  favor  of  the  narrow  way,  which  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  the  scarcely  opened  gate  of  Paradise  closed  itself 
again  before  his  weeping  eyes." — Olshausen,  on  Matt.  xix.  22. 


CHRIST'S    LOUK    OF    PITY.  121 

to  the  poor,  and  tliou  sluilt  have  treasure  in  heiiven:  and 
come,  follow  me." 

The  ruler  lacked  o)ic  thing,  but  that  was  vital  to 
everything  else.  It  was  not  one  thing  of  the  same  sort 
with  the  many  things  which  he  already  possessed,  needed 
simply  to  give  completeness  to  his  character.  It  was  not 
a  unit  which  must  be  added  to  the  ninety-nine  before 
possessed,  to  make  a  perfect  hundred.  It  was  not  a  lit- 
tle finger,  as  has  sometimes  been  said,  which  was  want- 
ing, in  order  to  a  perfect  physical  man.  Rather,  the 
ruler  needed  a  principle  to  animate  his  works  of  right- 
eousness. He  was  destitute  of  that  true  love  to  God 
which  is  the  life  of  all  obedience  to  his  law.  The  one 
thing  which  he  lacked  was  the  numeral  1,  which  pre- 
ceding the  ciphers,  00,  worthless  in  themselves,  makes 
them  100.  It  was  not  a  little  finger,  needed  to  com- 
plete the  man,  but  a  soul  to  give  life  to  the  body.  His 
heart  was  supremely  set  on  worldly  wealth.  This  was 
the  idol  on  the  throne.  And  therefore  the  Saviour  en- 
joins upon  him  just  that  which  would  sacrifice  the  idol 
and  enthrone  tlie  Lord  in  its  stead. 

The  language  of  the  Evangelists  shows  his  failure  to 
abide  the  Master's  test,  and  at  the  same  time  his  con- 
viction of  his  life-long  error.  He  is  "sorrowful," 
(Matthew,)  "very  sorrowful,"  (Luke,)  "sad"  and 
"grieved."  (Mark.)  And  going  away,  clinging  to  his 
"great  possessions,"  he  calls  from  the  Master  the  ex- 
clamation, "How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
11  F 


XXI. 

Parable  of  the  Ziahorers  in  the  Vineyard ;  as  connected  with  previous 
TeacJiinffs. 

Matt.  XX.  1-16;  xix.  16-30. 

The  disposition  to  sever  parables  from  the  connection 
in  which  they  are  found,  and  having  isolated  them  to 
try  and  discover  in  their  every  feature  and  detail  a  re- 
semblance to  some  supposed  case — this  disposition,  more 
than  anything  else,  as  we  believe,  hinders  the  proper 
understanding  of  the  parables.  Such  a  disposition  freely 
indulged,  in  reference  to  those  incidents  and  anecdotes 
which,  in  modern  discourse,  are  most  nearly  analogous 
to  the  parables  of  Scripture,  would  certainly  be  fatal  to 
any  correct  understanding  of  them. 

The  parable  of  the  laborers  runs  thus:  "For  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  an  householder, 
which  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire  laborers 
into  his  vineyard.  And  when  he  had  agreed  with  the 
laborers  for  a  penny  a  day,  he  sent  them  into  his  vine- 
yard. And  he  went  out  about  the  third  hour,  and  saw 
others  standing  idle  in  the  market-place,  and  said  unto 
them.  Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard ;  and  whatsoever  is 
right,  I  will  give  you.  And  they  went  their  way.  Again 
he  went  out  about  the  sixth  and  ninth  hour,  and  did 
likewise.  And  about  the  eleventh  hour  he  went  out,  and 
found  others  standing  idle,  and  saith  unto  them.  Why 

122 


PARABLE  OF  THE  LABORERS.  123 

Stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle?     They  say  unto  him, 
Because  no  man  hath  hired  us.     He  saith  unto  them, 
Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard ;  and  whatsoever  is  right, 
that  shall  ye  receive.     So  when  even  was  come,  the  lord 
of  the  vineyard  saith  unto  his  steward.  Call  the  laborers 
and  give  them  their  hire,  beginning  from  the  last  unto 
the  first.     And  when  they  came  that  were  hired  about 
the  eleventh  hour,  they  received  every  man  a  penny. 
But  when  the  first  came,  they  supposed  that  they  should 
have  received  more;  and  they  received  likewise  every 
man  a  penny.     And  when  they  had  received  it,  they 
murmured  against  the  good-man  of  the  house,  saying. 
These  last  have  wrought  but  one  hour,  and  thou  hast 
made  them  equal  unto  us,  which  have  borne  the  burden 
and  heat  of  the  day.     But  he  answered  one  of  them,  and 
said,  Friend,  I  do  thee  no  wrong:  didst  not  thou  agree 
with  me  for  a  penny?     Take  that  thine  is,  and  go  thy 
way :  I  will  give  unto  this  last,  even  as  unto  thee.     Is 
it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own  ? 
Is  thine  eye  evil  because  I  am  good?     So  the  last  shall 
be  first,  and  the  first  last:   for  many  be  called,  but  few 

chosen." 

This  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  the  para- 
bles. And  viewed  apart  from  its  connection,  and  regarded 
less  for  its  governing  thought  than  for  the  supposed  sig- 
nificance of  its  several  features,  we  may  readily  become 
bewildered  in  a  maze  of  interpretations  suggested  by  the 
imagination.  And  we  are  the  more  likely  to  view  this- 
paral3le  apart  from  the  previous  context,  with  which  it 
is  vitally  connected,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  separated 
from  that  context  in  the  artificial  division  of  the  chapters. 
The  remarks  made  on  p.  106  apply  here  with  full  force. 


124  HOUES   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

Very  many  readers,  no  doubt,  have  the  impression  that 
the  twentieth  chapter  of  Matthew  opens  with  a  wholly 
new  subject. 

We  desire  now,  if  possible,  to  obliterate  this  false  im- 
pression. We  desire  to  bridge  the  chasm  which  is  pro- 
duced by  the  division  of  the  chapters,  and  draw  the  par- 
able to  its  proper  place,  in  immediate  and  living  connec- 
tion wdth  our  Lord's  previous  teaching.  And  we  would 
seek  to  understand  the  parable  in  the  light  of  that  teach- 
ing. For  this  is  one  of  the  instances,  in  which  a  view 
of  the  whole  is  most  important  in  order  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  the  parts.  Here,  as  often  elsewhere,  the 
motion  of  the  river's  current  previously  acquired  may 
bear  the  vessel  over  a  shallow  passage  of  the  stream,  with 
only  slight  hindrance,  when  without  such  motion  the 
vessel  would  have  hopelessly  grounded.* 

That  the  parable  was  meant  to  illustrate  and  enforce 
the  previous  teaching,  is  evident  from  two  considerations. 
First,  the  parable  opens  in  a  way  to  indicate  it.  The 
language  is,  "  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a 
man,"  etc.  Plainly  thus  are  we  advertised  of  the  con-^ 
nection  of  the  parable  with  what  goes  before.  In  the 
second  place,  the  parable  w^inds  up  with  a  distinct  refer- 
ence to  the  saying  of  our  Saviour  immediately  preceding, 
and  with  its  partial  repetition.  The  closing  w^ords  of  the 
nineteenth  of  IMatthew  are  these ;  "  But  many  that  are 

•••  Neander  has  some  strange  remarks  on  this  point.  He  says,  "We 
cannot  but  suppose  that  this  parable  is  joined  to  the  words  that  precede 
and  follow  by  a  merely  accidental  link  of  connection.  The  most  elaborate 
efforts  to  harmonize  the  passages  in  question  with  the  parable  only  result 
in  destroying  its  sense,  so  pregnant  with  characteristic  Christian  truth." 
Yet  he  adds,  "  The  collocation  of  the  parable  in  Matthew  may  afford  a 
clue  to  its  interpretation." — Life  of  Christ. 


PARABLE    OF    TIIK    LABORERS.  YZb 

fii*st  shall  be  last ;  and  the  last  first."  And  the  parable 
thus  concludes ;  "  So  the  last  shall  ])e  first  and  the  first 
last;  for  many  be  called,  but  fi.'w  chosen." 

Instead,  then,  of  looking  at  the  parable  separately,  and 
spending  our  time  in  conjectures  as  to  who  respectively 
are  represented  by  the  laborers  employed  early  in  the 
morning,  and  at  the  different  times  of  day  mentioned ; 
instead  of  trying  to  reconcile  the  dissatisfied  and  selfish 
spirit  exhibited  by  those  who  had  labored  the  whole  day 
with  what  we  know  to  be  the  true  Christian  spirit ;  in- 
stead of  seeking  to  explain  the  equality  of  rewards  in  the 
parable  consistently  with  the  inequality  of  rewards  which 
the  Scriptures  teach  us  to  expect  in  heaven ;  instead  of 
this,  let  us  look  at  the  great  teaching  of  the  previous 
context  which  the  parable  was  evidently  intended  to  re- 
exhibit  and  reinforce,  and  see  if,  in  the  view  of  the  cen- 
tral and  controlling  truths  of  that  teaching,  the  parable 
may  not  show  an  intelligible  and  impressive  harmony.* 

Our  Saviour's  previous  teaching  had  been  given  in 
answer  to  a  statement  and  inquiry  made  by  the  Apostle 

*  The  Commentators  arc  especially  perplexed  over  the  "  penny."  About 
one-half  of  them  interpret  it  of  temporal  rewards ;  about  one-half  of  eter- 
nal. A  difference  truly.  But  why  should  we  interpret  it  of  either?  Why 
should  we  make  puzzles  of  parables?  Were  not  the  parables  intended  as 
illustrations  of  truth?  How  then  can  they  be  regarded  as  in  themselves 
obscure  ? 

"The  meaning  of  the  denary  (the  penny)  is  a  crux  interpretum,  and  re- 
minds us  of  what  Chrysostom  and  Maldonatus  say  in  loc,  that  wc  must 
not  scrupulously  press  every  particular  in  a  parable,  but  keep  alwaj^s  in 
view  the  general  scope.  Parables  are  poetic  pictures  taken  from  real  life 
for  the  illustration  of  the  higher  truths  and  realities  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  contain  with  the  essential  figures  some  ornamental  touches 
which  are  necessary  for  the  artistic  finish,  although  they  may  not  express 
definitely  a  corresponding  idea  or  fact  in  the  spiritual  world." — Scuafb 
in  Lange,  in  loco. 
11  * 


126  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

Peter.  "  Then  answered  Peter,  and  said  unto  him,  Be- 
hold, we  have  forsaken  all,  and  followed  thee;  what 
shall  we  have  therefore  ?"  Now  this  question  concerning 
the  rewards  of  discipleship  was  not,  in  itself  considered, 
unworthy.  The  disciple  is  expected  to  have  some  "  re- 
spect unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward."  Our  Saviour, 
therefore,  does  not  refuse  to  answer  Peter,  but  on  the 
contrary  portrays  in  most  striking  language  the  compen- 
sations of  a  true  Christian  self-denial.  "  And  Jesus  said 
unto  them,  Yerily  I  say  unto  you.  That  ye  which  have 
followed  me  in  the  regeneration,  when  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  And 
every  one  that  hath  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or  sis- 
ters, or  father,  or  mother,  or  w^ife,  or  children,  or  lands, 
for  my  name's  sake,  shall  receive  an  hundred  fold,  and 
shall  inherit  everlasting  life." 

Still,  it  would  be  easy  to  ask  the  question  of  Peter  in 
an  improper  spirit.  There  w^as  danger  that  with  such 
inspiring  rewards  in  prospect,  some  persons  might  un- 
dertake the  Christian  life  simply  with  a  view  to  secure 
them — in  a  selfish  and  mercenary  spmt,  rather  than  in 
the  loving  spirit  of  a  true  disciple.  This  were  a  fatal 
error.  And  hence  the  caution  with  which  the  Saviour 
follows  his  statements  of  the  Christian's  glorious  rewards ; 
"But  many  that  are  first  shall  be  last;  and  the  last 
first."  The  reward  does  not  so  much  depend  upon  the 
amount  of  sacrifice  made,  or  service  rendered,  as  upon 
the  prompting  motive  of  the  disciple.  If  the  Christian 
serves  his  Master  selfishly,  less  from  love  than  he 
ought,  and  w^ith  an  undue  regard  for  advantage,  though 
he  be  first  in  the  matter  of  privations  and  toils,  he  shall 


PARABLE    OF   THE    LABORERS.  lliT 

be  last  ill  the  luatter  of  reward;  while  he  who  is  truly 
devoted  to  the  Master,  being  sacrificed  in  spirit,  and 
ready  lovingly  to  endure  and  labor  according  to  his  op- 
portunities,— he,  even  though  few  opportunities  be  af- 
forded him,  and  he  be  last  in  actual  self-denials,  shall 
be  first  in  the  matter  of  reward. 

Next  comes  the  parable.  And  regarding  it  as  in- 
tended to  enforce  the  ciiution  just  announced, — regarding 
it  as  intended  to  impress  upon  the  Christian  disciple  the 
danger  of  indulging  a  selfish,  hireling  spirit  when  en- 
couraging himself  with  the  hope  of  reward, — how  per- 
fectly natural  does  it  appear,  how  beautifully  simj^le, 
liow"  free  from  all  that  is  perplexing.  The  Lord  may 
do  as  he  will  with  his  own.  His  bestowments  are  of 
grace  not  of  debt.  Something  else  than  the  compara- 
tive amount  of  service  rendered  proportions  the  Chris- 
tian's reward.  The  enjoyment  of  high  Christian  privi- 
lege, exciting  selfish  hopes  but  failing  to  secure  the  con- 
secration of  the  heart  to  God,  shall  distinguish  many 
who  will  come  short  of  salvation.  "So  the  last  shall 
be  first,  and  the  first  last:  for  many  be  called  but  few 
chosen." 


XXII. 

Christ's  Triumphal  Entry  into  tTentsalem :  Tlie  Ass  and  her  Colt, 
Matt.  xxi.  2,  7 ;  Mark  xi.  2 ;  Luke  xix.  30. 

Our  Saviour  coming  up  to  Jerusalem  for  the  last 
time  before  he  suffers,  enters  the  city  as  a  king,  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  his  loyal  people.  He  does  this,  we 
may  believe,  not  merely  in  order  that  the  Scriptures 
may  be  fulfilled,  but  under  the  guidance  of  that  eternal 
and  infinite  wisdom,  which  dictated  both  the  prophecies 
of  Scripture  concerning  him  and  the  whole  course  of  his 
actual  life.  It  was  doubtless  needed  that  an  open 
avowal  of  his  Messiahship,  of  this  impressive  yet  im- 
plicit sort,  should  be  made  at  the  Sacred  Capital  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  Nation,  before  he  should  suffer. 
Gradually  he  had  unfolded  his  character  as  the  Messiah, 
and  by  implication  had  claimed  to  be  recognized  as 
such'  and  here  the  avowal  is  made  so  distinctly,  that 
all  pretence,  on  the  part  of  those  who  should  reject 
him,  of  his  not  claiming  to  be  the  Messiah,  would  be  of 
no  avail. 

In  the  account  given  by  the  different  Evangelists  of 
the  steps  taken  preliminary  to  the  public  entrance  into 
the  city,  occurs  a  coincidence  evidently  unintended,  but 
such  as  indicates  the  strict  accuracy  of  each  Evangelist, 
in  narrating  what  was  of  special  interest  to  himself  or 
what  was  most  suitable  for  his  specific  purpose 

128 


CnmST    RIDING    INTO   JERUSALEM.  129 

Mark  and  Luke  speak  of  only  one  animal,  in  connec- 
tion Avith  Christ's  riding  into  Jerusalem,  and  that  "a 
colt."  It  was,  too,  an  unhrohai  colt;  for  both  writers 
arc  particular  to  state  that  never  yet  had  man  sat  on  it. 
This  was  doubtless  a  befitting  circumstance  in  the 
arrangement.  The  present  sacred  service  could  not 
have  been  becomingly  performed  by  an  animal  used  be- 
fore to  common  labors. 

Turning  now  to  Matthew,  we  find  that  he  constantly 
speaks  of  two  animals.  "Ye  shall  find  an  ass  tied,  and 
a  colt  with  her:  loose  them  and  brino;  them  unto  me." 
And  it  is  only  from  the  other  Evangelists  that  we  know 
upon  which  of  the  animals  the  Saviour  rode,  Matthew 
leaving  this  point  undetermined. 

On  other  occasions,  as  is  well  known,  Matthew  in  like 
manner  speaks  of  two  objects  or  persons,  where  the 
other  writers  mention  but  one.  Thus,  "Coming  into 
the  country  of  the  Gergesenes,  there  met  him  two  pos- 
sessed with  devils."*  The  others  speak  of  but  one, 
wdiom  we  are  accustomed  from  their  narratives  to  call 
the  Gadarene  demoniac.  So  Matthew  records  the  heal- 
ing of  two  blind  men  at  Jericho,  w^here  the  others  speak 
only,  of  Bartimeus.f  This  peculiarity  in  Matthew  is 
ascribed  by  some  to  his  former  practice  of  accurately 
noting  numbers,  in  his  occupation  of  accountant. 

But  while  Matthew  thus  mentions  the  fact  that  the 
mother  w^as  taken  along  with  the  colt,  without  intimat- 
ing any  reason  for  it,  the  statement  of  the  other  writers, 
to  the  effect  that  the  colt  was  nnbroken  and  hence  un- 
accustomed to  being  separated  from  its  mother,  furnishes 
us,  although  most  incidentally,  with  a  very  obvious  rea- 

*  Matt.  viii.  28.  f  Matt.  xx.  30. 


130  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

son.  The  colt  separated  from  its  mother  would  have 
been  intractable;  especially  when  called  to  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  a  novel  and  exciting  scene.  The  mother 
being  led  beside  the  colt,  as  Matthew's  narrative  im- 
plies that  it  was,  no  difficulty  on  this  score  would  proba- 
bly occur. 

Thus  the  narratives,  in  a  striking  yet  evidently  un- 
designed manner,  supplement  each  other. 

If  it  be  thought  that  we  are  refining  unduly,  it  may 
be  answered  that  it  is  no  unimportant  matter  to  detect  an 
indication  of  accurate  veracity  on  the  part  of  the  Evan- 
gelists, however  nice;  and  that  the  nicer  the  indication 
the  more  important  it  is,  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
their  infallible  truthfulness.  And  further,  the  refine- 
ment in  this  case  is  not  without  a  sufficient  result;  inas- 
much as  it  enables  us  to  dispense  with  the  supposition 
of  a  miracle  performed  on  the  colt,  to  make  it  sufficiently 
manageable.  Many  Commentators  have  thought  the 
supposition  of  such  a  miracle  necessary,  although  the 
records  give  no  hint  that  any  miracle  was  actually 
wrought. 

We  may  add,  before  concluding,  that  the  way  in 
which  Matthew  speaks  of  the  two  animals,  has  curiously 
led  him  to  the  apparent  assertion  of  a  more  literal  ful- 
fillment of  prophecy  than  he  evidently  intended.  Mat- 
thew thus  writes;  "And  they  brought  the  ass  and  the 
colt,  and  put  on  them  their  clothes,  and  they  set  him 
thereon."  And  before  this  he  writes;*  "All  this  was 
done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  tlie 
prophet,  saying.  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Zion,  Behold 
thy  King  cometh  unto  thee,  meek,  and  sitting  upon  an 

*  Matt.  xxi.  7. 


CHRIST   RIDING    INTO    JERUSALEM.  131 

ass,  and  a  colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass."*  At  first  siglit,  we 
might  have  thought  that  the  propliet  had  represented  the 
King  of  Zion  as  riding  on  ttvo  animals,  and  that  Mat- 
thew had  spoken  of  both  the  ass  and  her  colt,  with  a 
view  of  showing  the  exact  fulfillment  of  the  prediction. 
But  every  Hebrew  scholar  knows  that  only  one  animal 
was  intended  by  the  prophet;  and  it  were  absurd  to 
think  that  Matthew,  himself  a  Hebrew,  would  make  a 
mistake  here.  Surely  he  was  as  familiar  with  the  paral- 
lelism of  Hebrew  poetry,  as  are  any  of  our  modern 
critics ! 

*  Matt.  xxi.  4,  5. 


XXIII. 

The  Miracle  and  the  Parable  of  the  Barren  Fig-Tree, 

Mark  xi.  12-14 ;  Luke  xiii.  6-9. 

OuE  Saviour  wrought  many  miracles  of  mercy  in 
illustration  of  his  gospel  of  mercy,  but  only  one  miracle 
of  judgment  in  illustration  of  the  wrath  due  to  despised 
mercy.  Even  in  this  he  selected  an  unconscious  object 
for  malediction  and  destruction. 

The  miracle  of  the  barren  fig-tree  thus  occurred. 
Jesus  was  at  Jerusalem,  teaching  daily  in  the  temple 
and  spending  his  nights  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  The 
people  all  came  to  the  temple  early  in  the  mornings, 
thronging  to  hear  him,'''  and  he,  working  while  the 
day  lasted — his  night  hastening  apace — came  early  into 
the  city  that  he  might  be  about  his  Father's  business. 

It  Avas  the  next  morning  after  his  public  entry  into 
Jerusalem,  that,  returning  from  his  night  lodgings  at 
Bethany,  apparently  without  having  breakfasted,  he  felt 
keenly  the  pangs  of  hunger.  Seeing  in  the  way  a  fig- 
tree  in  full  leaf,  he  came  to  it,  "if  haply  he  might  find 
anything  thereon"  to  appease  his  hunger.  But  while 
there  was  an  abundance  of  leaves,  giving  evidence  of 
vigorous  life,  and,  even  in  advance  of  the  season,  rich' 
promise  of  fruit,  no  fruit  was  found.  It  was  a  barren 
fig-tree.     In  a  few  words,  not  of  impatience  or  anger, 

-•■  Luke  xxi.  38. 
132 


THE    BAllllEN    FIG-TREE. 


138 


though  doubtless  of  deep  solemnity,  he  doomed  the  tree 
to  the  perpetual  barrenness  of  death.  "Jesus  answered 
and  said  unto  it,  No  man  eat  fruit  of  thee  hereafter  for- 
ever." And  soon  the  judgment  took  effect.  The  next 
morning,  that  tree,  so  exuberant  of  a  profitless  life, 
nourishing  in  its  showy,  boastful  wealth  of  leaves, 
was  a  withered  mass,  a  lifeless  stock,  "dried  up  from 
the  roots." 

Now  how  is  this  miracle  to  be  regarded?  No  doubt 
we  might  so  conceive  of  it,  that  it  would  seem  unworthy 
the  Saviour. 

We  might  conceive  of  it  as  exhibiting  an  ebullition 
of  puerile  resentment  against  an  unconscious  object 
which  had  innocently  occasioned  a  disappointment.  Of 
course  there  have  not  been  found  wanting  those  who 
were  ready  to  make  the  most  out  of  the  apparently  un- 
favorable features  of  this  miracle. 

AYere  it  permitted  us,  however,  to  regard  this  mir- 
acle as  mainly  intended  to  teach  important  truth, 
all  difficulty  of  the  sort  suggested  would  instantly  van- 
ish. And,  as  is  well  known,  most  interpreters  attribute 
to  it  a  symbolic  character.  They  regard  it  as  a  parable 
in  action,  and  as  emblematical  of  the  fete  of  the  Jewish 
people.  And  that  our  Saviour  intended  the  miracle 
thus  to  be  taken,  seems  highly  probable  from  the  fact 
that  just  now  the  thought  of  the  nation's  approaching 
destruction  was  evidently  dwelling  on  his  mind,  and 
from  the  further  fact  that  the  details  of  the  miracle  ap- 
ply with  remarkable  aptness  to  the  principal  features 
of  Jewish  history. 

How  often  at  this  time  did  Jesus  show  that  the  im- 
pending doom  of  his  people  was  prominently  in  his 


12 


1^.54  HOURS    AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

view.  Only  the  day  before,  he  had  wept  over  Jerusa- 
lem, beholding  with  prophetic  eye  her  desolations, 
"because  she  knew  not  the  time  of  her  visitation." 
And  the  day  after,  he  warned  the  rulers  that  "the  king- 
dom of  God  should  be  taken  from  them  and  given  to  a 
nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof, ^^"^  and  portrayed 
to  his  disciples  at  length  the  downfall  of  the  Jewish 
State.  And  the  details  of  the  j)arable  are  apt  for  this 
symbolic  teaching.  The  Jewish  people  gave  abundant 
signs  of  religious  life.  They  were  blessed  with  all 
manner  of  religious  privileges,  and  they  made  all  man- 
ner of  religious  professions.  Those  who  beheld  them 
from  afar  expected  to  find  among  them  the  fruits  of 
religious  living,  upon  a  near  approach  and  acquaintance. 
Yet  their  religion  was  all  show  and  boast — like  the  pro- 
duce of  the  fruitless  fig-tree.  They  were  without  profit 
toward  God,  and  cumbered  the  ground. 

The  symbolic  character  of  the  miracle  is  thus  seen  to 
be  probable.  Yet  would  it  not  be  gratifying  to  have 
this  confirmed  ?  But  how  can  we  expect  it  to  be  con- 
firmed? As  intimated  by  the  title  of  this  chapter,  we 
are  disposed  to  connect  the  miracle  with  the  parable  of 
the  barren  fig-tree.  And  while,  apart  from  any  connec- 
tion of  the  two,  we  may  reasonably  attach  the  symbolic 
meaning  to  the  miracle  just  stated,  it  would  seem  that 

-:■:-  "  Xf  we  regard  the  tree  as  a  symbol  of  the  nation,  and  the  malediction 
as  indicative  of  the  nation's  doom,  until  the  end  of  this  dispensation,  the 
time  of  the  act  may  be  significant.  Our  Lord  had  entered  Jerusalem,  the 
day  before,  as  her  king,  but  he  was  not  received  in  that  character,  except 
by  the  children.  The  multitudes  hailed  him  only  as  the  prophet  of  Naz- 
areth, while  the  rulers  plotted  against  his  life.  With  that  day,  therefore, 
the  day  of  their  national  visitation  ended,  and  before  he  entered  the  city 
again,  he  portrayed  in  the  fig-tree  the  nation's  doom." — Jones'  Notes  on 
Scripture. 


THE   BARREN   FIG-TREE.  135 

we  are  almost  compelled  to  do  this,  if  we  bring  the  two 
into  connection.  And  that  the  miracle  was  intended  to 
be  viewed  in  connection  with  the  parable,  appears  in  the 
highest  degree  probable,  if  we  consider  not  merely  the 
sameness  of  the  subject — in  both  cases  a  fruitless  fig-tree 
— but  also  the  fact  that  the  miracle  in  its  symbolic  cliar- 
acter  perfectly  supplements  and  completes  the  parable.* 

Let  us  glance  at  the  parable,  and  then  see  how  ad- 
mirably the  miracle  fits  it. 

Jesus  had  been  correcting  the  false  views  of  his  hear- 
ers, who  regarded  extraordinary  calamities  as  judgments 
from  God  for  particular  and  aggravated  sins.  "  Sup- 
pose ye,"  he  asks,  "that  these  Galileans,"  "whose  blood 
Pilate  had  mingled  Avitli  their  sacrifices,"  "  were  sinners 
above  all  the  Galileans,  because  they  suffered  such 
things  ?  I  tell  you,  Nay  ;  but  excej^t  ye  repent,  ye  shall 
all  likewise  perish."  Again  he  asks,  "  Or  those  eighteen, 
upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam  fell,  and  slew  them, 
think  ye  that  they  were  sinners  above  all  men  that  dwelt 
in  Jerusalem  ?  I  tell  you,  Nay ;  but  except  ye  repent, 
ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  Just  before  this,  he  had 
warned  the  people,  and  his  enemies  with  them,  of  the 
crisis  which  was  at  hand,  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
He  demands  of  them,  "  Ye  hypocrites,  ye  can  discern 

*  The  good  Bishop  Uall  thus  writes:  "Besides  that,  I  have  learned 
that  thou,  0  Saviour,  wert  wont  not  to  speak  only,  but  to  work  parables : 
and  what  was  this  other  than  a  real  parable  of  thine  ?  .  .  .  How  didst  thou 
herein  mean  to  teach  thy  disciples  how  much  thou  hatest  an  unfruitful 
profession,  and  what  judgments  thou  mean'st  to  bring  upon  that  barren 
generation  ?  Once  before  hadst  thou  compared  the  Jewish  nation  to  a  fig- 
tree  in  the  midst  of  thy  vineyard,  which,  after  three  years'  expectation 
and  culture,  yielding  no  fruit,  was  by  thee,  the  Owner,  doomed  to  a  speedy 
excision;  71010  thou  actcdst  what  thou  then  aaitht." — Contemplations  in 
loco. 


136  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

the  face  of  the  sky  and  of  the  earth ;  but  how  is  it  that 
ye  do  not  discern  this  time  ?"  And  he  warns  them  of 
impending  judgment,  and  of  the  necessity  of  j)rompt 
measures  in  order  to  avoid  it.* 

Thus,  then,  just  preceding  the  parable  of  the  barren 
fig-tree,  Jesus  pictures  the  Jewish  people  as  exposed  to 
the  imminent  judgments  of  God,  the  sw^ord  of  Pilate 
ever  gleaming  before  their  eyes  ready  to  pierce  them, 
the  crumbling  tower  of  Siloam  ever  overhanging  them 
ready  to  fall  in  crushing  destruction.  And  judgment  is 
stayed,  to  give  space  for  repentance.  It  w^ll  come  in 
all  its  destructive  fury,  unless  averted  by  repentance. 
"  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likemse  perish.^f 

Then  follows  the  parable  of  the  fig-tree,  for  three  suc- 
cessive years  disappointing  the  owner  of  the  vineyard, 
and  spared  from  being  cut  down  as  cumbering  the  ground, 
by  the  urgent  intercessions  of  the  dresser  of  the  vineyard, 
yet  spared  only  for  a  single  year,  in  the  hope  that  re- 
newed and  yet  more  generous  culture  may  result  in  its 
fruitfulness.  "  If  it  bear  fruit,  well ;  and  if  not,  then 
after  that  thou  shalt  cut  it  down." 

Thus,  in  the  parable,  is  the  want  of  fruitfulness  in 
God's  service  represented  as  calling  for  judgment  upon 
the  Jewish  people.  And  the  parable  leaves  the  people 
with  judgment  suspended  over  them,  and  ready  to  de- 
scend upon  them  in  case  of  their  continued  unfruitful- 
ness. 

The  subsequent  history  shows  that  the  people  were 
not  brought  to  repentance.     They  failed  to  bring  forth 

••■"  Luke  xii.  54-59. 

•\  "  Those  two  calamities  then  are  adduced  as  slight  foretastes  of  the  doom 
prepared  for  the  whole  rebellious  nation." — Trench  on  the  Parables. 


THE   BARREN   FIG-TREE. 


137 


"fruits  meet  for  repentance."  Renewed  and  In('n'asin<^ 
privilege  only  stimulated  tlieir  spiritual  pride  and  self- 
sufficiency  and  shameless  boastings.  They  were  now 
about  to  consummate  their  unfaithfulness  by  the  positive 
rejection  of  the  Sent  and  Son  of  God,  for  whose  sake 
their  nation  and  their  religion  existed.  Hence  the  tree 
must  be  destroyed.  The  impending  judgment  must  de- 
scend. The  intercessor  must  stand  aside,  acquiescing 
though  sadly  in  the  decree  of  doom. 

And  all  this  is  set  forth  in  the  miracle  of  the  fig-tree, 
if  we  may  attribute  to  it  a  symbolic  character. 

How  deeply  impressive  becomes  the  miracle  thus  in- 
terpreted. As  if  Jesus,  standing  by  the  fruitless  tree, 
had  said  to  his  disciples,  "Remember  that  tree  of  which 
I  told  you  before,  so  long  fruitless,  yet  spared  another 
year.  And  here  is  that  tree,  vigorous  with  life  under 
its  new  culture,  but  fruitless  still.  The  time  for  judg- 
ment has  come."  "Let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee  hence- 
forward for  ever." 


12 


XXIV. 

Christ's  Denunciation  against  the  Scribes  and  JPJiarisees  at  differ- 
ent times  Compared. 

Matt,  xxiii.;  Luke  xi.  37-54. 

The  Twenty-Third  of  Matthew  is  mainly  occupied 
with  a  discourse  of  the  Saviour,  of  unparalleled  severity, 
directed  against  the  leaders  of  the  people.  "As  he  once 
commenced  his  sermon  on  the  Mount  in  Galilee  with 
pronouncing  eight  beatitudes,  so  he  closes  his  last  public 
address  with  pronouncing  eight  woes  on  IMount  Moriah, 
declaring  thereby  most  distinctly  that  all  manifestation 
of  his  Divine  love  and  meekness  had  been  in  vain,  and 
must  now  give  way  to  stern  justice."* 

Were  we  reading  Matthew  without  note  or  comment, 
we  should  probably  have  no  other  thought  than  that 
this  thrillingly  solemn  discourse  was  actually  delivered 
at  the  time  indicated,  and  substantially  in  the  form  here 

*  Baumgarten  in  Nast.  "  Some  have  labored  to  sliow  that  there  is  a 
contrast  between  the  earlier  and  later  utterances  of  Jesus,  indicative  of  a 
change  of  feelings  and  views.  This  supposition  is  based  on  the  fact,  that 
whilst  at  his  first  public  appearances  blessings  fell  from  his  lips,  at  a  later 
period  he  poured  forth  denunciations  of  the  cities  which  had  rejected 
him.  .  .  .  The  only  perceivable  difference  is,  that  as  he  drew  towards 
the  termination  of  his  mission,  the  ardent  love  he  bore  to  his  people 
expressed  itself  more  frequently  and  more  strongly  in  the  form  of  grief  at 
their  perversity,  until  last  of  all  there  burst  forth  the  prophetic  warning, 
that  their  contempt  of  inward  moral  redemption  must  inevitably  result  in 
outward  ruin." — Ullman's  Sinlessness  op  Jesus. 
138 


SCRIBES   AND    PIIAIIISEES   DENOUNCED.  139 

reported.  Some  expositors,  however,  tell  us  that  Jesus 
now  uttered  only  a  part  of  what  is  here  recorded,  and 
that  Matthew,  in  making  his  report, — accordin<^  to  an 
alleged  habit  of  that  Evangelist, — incorporated  similar 
sayings  of  the  Saviour  spoken  at  other  times.  The  dis- 
course as  here  given  may  seem  to  be  connected  and  com- 
plete, but  this,  they  tell  us,  is  due  to  the  compiler  rather 
than  to  the  author  of  these  sayings. 

The  only  reason  adduced  for  this  opinion,  apart  from 
the  alleged  habit  of  Matthew  just  mentioned,  is  the  fact 
that  Luke,  in  the  passage  above  cited,  has  given  a  dis- 
course of  Christ  delivered  on  another  occasion,  which 
strongly  resembles  this ;  some  of  the  expressions  being 
identical.  Noav,  in  regard  to  Matthew's  habit  of  group- 
ing things  similar,  we  believe  it  to  be  greatly  exag- 
gerated.f  Further,  it  seems  a  very  insufficient  reason 
for  rejecting  the  common  view  entertained  of  the  unity 
and  comjjleteness  of  this  discourse  in  ^latthew,  that  our 
Saviour  is  known  to  have  spoken  some  of  the  same 
things  on  another  occasion.  Why  may  we  not  think 
that  Christ  often  repeated  his  instructions,  both  as  to 
matter  and  form,  moving  as  he  did  from  place  to  place, 
and  addressing  different  assemblies  of  people?  And 
why  might  he  not,  in  a  long  discourse  directed  against 
a  certain  class  of  persons,  repeat  some  of  the  same  ex- 
pressions before  used  in  another  place,  in  addressing  the 
same  class  of  persons  ?  It  were  sufficiently  absurd  to 
take  our  conceptions  of  Christ's  discourses  in  this  respect 
from  those  of  a  parish  minister  preaching  to  a  stationary 
conofrciration.  Indeed  we  know  that  sometimes  he  did  re- 
peat  himself;  the  very  same  instructions  being  now  and 

■S'  See  foot-note,  p.  42. 


140  HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

then  reported  by  the  same  Evangelist,  as  spoken  at  dif- 
ferent times  and  places.  Luke  himself,  in  the  very 
instance  before  us,  reporting  very  briefly  the  discourse 
which  Matthew  gives  at  length,  repeats  almost  verbafim 
some  of  the  expressions  which  he  had  previously  given.* 

But  we  desire,  now,  further  and  especially  to  show, 
from  a  comparison  of  this  discourse  in  Matthew  with 
that  in  Luke,  that  the  two  are  very  different,  and  that 
the  difPerences  are  precisely  such  as  the  altered  circum- 
stances under  which  the  Evangelists  represent  them  to 
have  been  delivered,  seem  to  have  demanded.  Thus 
we  shall  have  the  best  of  reasons  for  rejecting  the  sup- 
position of  compilation  on  the  part  of  Matthew,  and  for 
taking  the  discourse  as  he  reports  it  for  a  summary  of 
the  actual  discourse  now  pronounced  by  the  Saviour. 

It  appears  sufficiently  clear  that  the  denunciations  of 
our  Lord  against  the  Pharisees,  as  given  in  the  eleventh 
of  Luke,  were  spoken  elsewhere  than  at  Jerusalem.  It 
is  difficult  to  determine  where  he  was  then  performing 
his  ministry,  whether  in  Galilee  or  Perea,  yet  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  determining  that  he  was  not  in  Jerusa- 
lem. He  was  not,  at  that  time,  in  the  stronghold  of 
Pharisaism.  And  although  the  exact  date  of  that  dis- 
course is  uncertain,  yet  plainly  it  preceded  by  a  consid- 
erable period  the  one  recorded  by  Matthew.  The  op- 
position of  the  Pharisees  to  Jesus,  had  not  therefore 
reached  its  highest  pitch  of  exasperation  and  malignity. 
From  the  considerations  both  of  place  and  time,  we 
should  expect  that  discourse  of  Jesus,  however  severe 
in  itself,  to  show  a  comparative  mildness.  This,  as  we 
shall  presently  see,  is  the  case.     AYe  would  now  call 

*  Compare  Luke  xx.  45,  46,  and  xi.  43. 


SCRIBES   AND    PHARISEES    DENOUNCED.  141 

attention  to  the  fact,  that  according  to  Luke,  our  Saviour 
did  not  volunteer  his  denunciations  at  all.  They  were 
elicited  by  the  incidents  of  the  occasion,  and  the  remarks 
of  those  about  him.  Dining  at  the  house  of  a  Pharisee, 
tlie  host  wonders  that  Jesus  "  has  not  first  washed  before 
dinner."  This  calls  for  the  first  portion  of  our  Saviour's 
utterances,  extending  through  six  verses.  Then  a  law- 
yer interposes,  with  the  words,  "  Master,  thus  saying 
thou  reproachest  us  also,"  when  Jesus  spealvS  of  the  sins 
of  the  lawyers,  through  seven  verses  more,  ending  the 
conversation. 

The  discourse  in  jMatthew  is  nearly  three  times  the 
length  of  that  in  Luke.  It  was  spoken  at  Jerusalem, 
at  the  end  of  a  series  of  most  animated  encounters  with 
the  Pharisees,  and  in  the  very  end  of  Christ's  public 
ministry.  It  was  volunteered  by  the  Saviour,  as  his 
solemn  and  final  testimony  against  those  who,  in  their 
whole  influence,  were  perverting  the  people,  and  who, 
just  now,  were  consummating  their  plans  for  the  mur- 
der of  their  Messiah.  All  things  considered,  the  place, 
the  time,  the  preceding  discussions — in  which  the  Sav- 
iour, having  met  every  demand  and  disposed  of  every 
ingenious  question  of  his  adversaries,  shamed  them  into 
utter  silence  by  a  wise  question  of  his  own — it  seems 
eminently  natural  and  befitting  that  the  Saviour  should 
have  turned  upon  these  princes  of  mischievous  wicked- 
ness, and,  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  pronounced 
upon  them  just  such  terrific  condemnation  as  is  here 
recorded  by  ^Matthew. 

For,  let  us  now  observe  the  sharper  severity  of  his 
rebukes,  as  here  administered.  In  the  former  discourse, 
he  had  said  nothing  of  the  greedy  avariciousness  of  the 


142  HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

Pharisees.  See  in  what  language  he  now  characterizes 
this  sin  and  its  consequences  :  "  For  ye  devour  widows' 
houses,  and  for  a  pretence  make  long  prayers :  therefore 
ye  shall  receive  the  gi^eater  damnation.''^  Before,  he  had 
said  nothing  of  their  religious  party-zeal.  Now,  his  lan- 
guage of  condemnation  of  this  sin  is  equally  energetic 
with  that  just  given :  "  For  ye  compass  sea  and  land  to 
make  one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  made,  ye  make  him 
tico-fold  more  the  child  of  hell  than  yourselves.^'  While 
in  Luke,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  when  once  denounced 
as  "  hypocrites,"  are  compared  to  "  graves  which  appear 
not,  and  the  men  that  walk  over  them  are  not  aware  of 
them,"  the  comparison  in  Matthew  is  that  of "  ivhited 
sepulchres,  which  indeed  appear  beautiful  outward,  but 
are  within  full  of  dead  men's  hones  and  of  all  unclean- 
ness.''  "While  in  Luke,  he  once  addresses  the  Pharisees 
as  "  fools,"  he  here  repeatedly  addresses  them  as  ''fools 
and  blind;''  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  word  for 
"  fool "  in  the  Greek  of  Luke  is  a  mild  word,  signifying 
"  mindless  "  or  "  uni^asoning,"  while  in  Matthew  it  is 
that  word  of  intense  moral  reproach  which,  used  by  us 
concerning  a  fellow-man,  puts  us,  as  our  Saviour  has 
taught  us,  in  peril  of  hell-fire.*  Only  in  Matthew  oc- 
curs that  vehement  and  ominous  appeal,  "  Ye  serpents, 
ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of 
hdl  f"  And  when  we  remember  that  John  the  Baptist 
first  used  this  exact  form  of  address,  saying,  "  O  genera- 
tion of  vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the 
WTath  to  come,"  when  he  saw  many  of  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  coming  to  his  baptism,  there  seems  a  pe- 
culiar fitness  in  our  Saviour  taking  it  up  just  at  this 

*  Matt.  V.  22. 


SCRIBES    AND    PHARISEES    DENOUNCED.  14o 

tiino.  For  tliis  very  day,  wlicii  tlicsc  Pliarisees,  dc- 
maudiiig  of  Jesus  by  what  authority  he  assumed  to  act, 
were  referred  to  the  baptism  of  John,  they  refused  to  ac- 
knowledge it  as  of  Divine  authority.*  And,  as  the 
crowning  instance  of  our  Saviour's  present  enhanced 
severity  of  denunciation,  we  may  observe  that  whilst  in 
Luke  he  sometimes  uses  the  exclamation  "woe"  ajrainst 
the  Pharisees  or  lawyers,  and  once  adds  "  hypocrites ;" 
here  in  Matthew,  the  long  discourse  is  mainly  sustained 
upon  the  key-note,  "  Woe  unto  you,  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, hypocrites J^  Seven  times  is  this  same  phrase  uttered, 
sounding  forth  like  so  many  successive  blasts  from  the 
trump  of  fate. 

It  might  also  be  shown  that  this  discourse,  of  such 
terrible  severity,  finds  an  appropriate  conclusion  in  that 
most  pathetic  lamentation  of  the  Saviour  over  Jerusalem, 
connected  by  INIatthew  with  his  report  of  this  discourse. 
The  conclusion  befits  the  character  of  the  Saviour,  the 
character  of  the  discourse,  and  all  the  circumstances  of 
the  occasion.  For  he  is  the  tender,  pitying  Eedeemer 
still.  His  wrath  is  the  strange  wrath  of  the  lamb.  And 
the  perverse  wickedness  of  those  whom  he  has  just  de- 
nounced is  hurrying  onward  not  only  themselves,  but 
the  whole  people,  to  a  dreadful  doom.  ISTo  wonder  that, 
rejected  of  the  nation,  the  words  with  which  he  closes 
his  ministry  are  these ;  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou 
that  killest  the  prophets  and  stonest  them  which  are 
sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not !  Behold  your  house 
is  left  unto  you  desolate.     For  I  say  unto  you,  ye  shall 

=•  Matt.  xxi.  27. 


144  HOURS   AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

not  see  me  henceforth,  till  ye  say,  Blessed  is  he  that 
Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Our  conclusion  is,  that  just  such  a  discourse  as  this 
which  Matthew  records,  is  in  exact  harmony  with  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  is  represented  to  have  been 
uttered ;  and  that  so  far  from  the  similar  discourse  in 
Luke  furnishing  any  argument  against  the  opinion  that 
this  in  Matthew  was  delivered  substantially  as  here  pre- 
sented, it  affords  a  strong  argument  in  precisely  the  con- 
trary direction. 


XXV. 

The  Anointing  of  Christ  hy   Mary  of  Bethany:   The  Evangelist* 
Compared. 

Matt.  xxvi.  6-13 ;  Mark  xiv.  3-9 ;  John  xii.  2-8.     • 

The  time  of  this  occurrence  was  subsequent  to  the 
raising  of  Lazarus,  and  shortly  preceding  the  Saviour's 
final  passover.  The  supper  was  given  at  the  house  of 
Simon  i\\Q  leper,  evidently  a  familiar  friend  of  the  family 
of  Bethany.  All  the  members  of  that  family  were  pres- 
ent, Lazarus  sitting  at  the  table,  Martha  serving  the 
guests,  and  Mary  engaged  in  anointing  the  Saviour. 

We  may  first  observe  the  identical  differences  of  char- 
acter, ascribed  to  the  sisters  of  Bethany  by  the  Evangel- 
ists Luke  and  John.*  In  Luke,  Martha  appears  the 
busy,  practical,  talkative  woman,  intent  on  her  house- 
keeping, "cumbered  about  much  serving."  Mary  is 
quiet,  retired,  receptive ; — "  who  sat  at  Jesus'  feet  and 
heard  his  words."  In  the  eleventh  of  Jolm,  in  the  nar- 
rative of  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  it  is  Martha  who  first 
hears  of  the  coming  of  Jesus  to  the  village,  showing  that 
she,  more  than  her  sister,  was  in  contact  with  outward 
life.  Hearing  of  his  coming,  she  goes  to  meet  him ;  in 
the  interview  with  him  exhibiting  great  self-command 
and  great  readiness  in   the  expression  of   lier  feelings. 

-  Luke  X.  :',8-42;  John  xi.  and  xii. 
13  G  145 


146  nOURS    AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

Mary,  meanwhile,  had  not  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Jesus. 
She  "sat  still  in  the  house,"  apparently  absorbed  in 
grief.  And  when,  at  the  bidding  of  Jesus,  she  came 
forth  to  meet  him,  she  could  only  utter  a  single  excla- 
mation, being  dissolved  in  emotion  and  falling  at  his 
feet.  And  in  the  twelfth  of  John,  where  the  sisters  re- 
appear, they  exhibit  precisely  the  same  characteristic 
differences,  Martha  honoring  the  Master  by  an  active 
attendance  upon  him,  "  serving "  the  table,  and  Mary 
testifying  to  her  feelings  of  profound  and  grateful  love 
by  extraordinary  acts  of  devotion,  having  once  more  as- 
sumed her  blessed  station  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

These  notices  of  the  sistei-s,  in  Luke  and  in  John,  have 
no  connection  with  each  other,  and  the  differences  of 
character  in  the  sisters  are  in  each  case  brought  to  view 
in  the  most  casual  way,  thus  rendering  the  exact  agree- 
ment of  description  all  the  more  striking  as  a  proof  of 
the  minute  truthfulness  of  the  writers. 

Further  than  this,  the  fact  that  INIartha,  as  shown  by 
John,  still  indulged  the  same  active  and  practical  dis- 
position, after  the  rebuke  given  her  by  Jesus  and  the 
commendation  bestowed  on  her  sister,  as  recorded  by 
Luke,  is  highly  suggestive.  It  intimates  that  our  Lord, 
on  that  occasion,  did  not  intend  a  general  disparagement 
of  Martha's  qualities  of  character  in  comparison  with 
those  of  Mary,  as  if  he  would  exalt  the  contemi^lative  dis- 
position over  the  cictive  in  Christian  character ;  much  less 
that  he  intended  to  imply  that  Martha  was  not  a  true 
disciple ;  but  rather  that  Martha's  busy  and  careful  dis- 
position had,  on  this  particular  occasion,  become  a  snare 
to  her,  leading  her  to  overvalue  the  mere  hospitalities 
of  the  hour,  while  INIary,  in  endeavoring  to  obtain  a 


THE   ANOINTING    BY    MARY.  147 

permanent  blessing  from  the  Lord's  visit  by  attending 
on  his  instructions,  had  more  wisely  chosen. 

Let  us  now  review  and  compare  the  accounts  of  the 
anointing  given  by  three  of  the  historians,  and  observe 
the  manner  in  which  they  illustrate  one  another,  and 
together  present  a  full  picture.  Matthew  and  Mark  are 
much  alike.     John,  in  many  particulars,  is  unlike  either. 

Both  ^latthew  and  ISIark  mention  the  house  as  that 
of  Simon  the  leper.  John  omits  this,  saying,  "  there," 
that  is,  at  Bethany,  "  tlicy  made  him  a  supper."  Possi- 
bly the  family  of  Bethany  had  a  principal  concern  in 
providing  the  entertainment,  holding  it  at  the  house  of 
their  friend,  as  more  commodious  than  their  own.  John 
alone  mentions  the  names  of  the  family  of  Bethany,  the 
others  leaving  us  in  the  dark,  even  concerning  the  per- 
son who  anointed  the  Saviour.  They  speak  of  her  most 
indefinitely  as  "  a  w^oman."  All  the  writers  tell  us  of 
the  rare  worth  of  the  ointment  lavished  by  jNIary  upon 
her  Lord;  yet  Matthew  omits  the  designation  of  "three 
hundred  pence,"  given  by  Mark  and  John  as  its  ap- 
proximate value.  In  the  parable  of  the  laborers,  w^e 
find  the  stipulated  wages  for  a  day's  work  in  the  vine- 
yard, to  be  a  penny.*  Supposing  the  parable  to  be  in 
accordance  with  current  custom,  in  this  particular,  the 
box  of  ointment  is  seen  to  have  been  regarded  as  worth 
a  working-man's  whole  year  of  daily  labor.  While 
Matthew  and  Mark  speak  of  ^Mary's  pouring  the  oint- 
ment on  the  head  of  Jesus,  as  he  reclined  at  the  table, 
Mark  mentions  further  her  breaking  the  box,  and  John 
states  that  she  "  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  wiped 

«  Matthew  XX.  1-16. 


148         HOURS  AMONG  THE  GOSPELS. 

his  feet  with  licr  hair ;  and  the  house  Avas  filled  with 
the  odor  of  the  ointment." 

This  beautiful  act  of  devotion  was  strangely  followed 
by  a  scene  of  disquiet  and  angry  questioning,  in  which 
the  modest,  shrinking  Mary  was  no  doubt  greatly 
"  troubled,"  and  which  produced  the  prompt  and  au- 
thoritative interference  of  the  Master.  The  variations 
in  the  narrative  become  more  important,  and  still  more 
suggestive.  Matthew  speaks  of  "  his  disciples  "  having 
indignation,  when  they  witnessed  the  act  of  Mary.  The 
ill  feeling  seems  to  have  been  general  among  the  Twelve. 
Mark,  however,  writes  that  "  there  were  some  that  had 
indignation  within  themselves,"  as  though  only  a  part 
of  the  Twelve  might  have  been  involved.  But  John, 
be  it  observed,  mentions  only  JudaSy  making  him  the 
author  of  the  complaint  against  Mary.  "  Then  saith 
one  of  his  disciples,  Judas  Iscariot,  Simon's  son,  which 
should  betray  him."  There  is,  of  course,  no  contradic- 
tion here.  Evidently  the  opposition  to  Mary's  act  began 
with  Judas,  and  thence  spread  among  the  disciples  until 
it  became  general.  The  question  of  Judas  was  echoed 
by  one  and  another,  until  the  whole  table  was  agitated. 

While  Matthew  and  Mark  speak  of  the  question  about 
the  waste  of  the  ointment,  all  the  writers  show  that  the 
alternative  proposed  by  Judas  and  seconded  by  the  rest, 
was  the  disposing  of  the  ointment  for  the  benefit  of  the 
poor.  John  informs  us,  too,  and  that  very  explicitly, 
that  the  plea  of  Judas  for  the  poor  was  hypocritical ; 
that  the  real  cause  of  his  indignation  was  not  the  thought 
that  the  poor  might  have  been  benefitted  by  the  sale  of 
the  ointment,  but  the  thought  that  he  himself  might 
have  been  advantaged,  by  the  appropriation  of  a  share 


THE   ANOINTING    BY   MARY.  140 

of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale,  aceoixlln^  to  lils  custom. 
"  This  he  said,  not  that  lie  cared  for  the  poor  ;  but  be- 
cause he  was  a  thief,  and  had  the  bag,  and  bare  what 
wa,s  put  therein." 

Of  course  the  other  disciples  could  not  be  charged 
with  the  hypocrisy  of  Judas,  although  they  joined  in 
his  complaint.  There  was  abundant  room  for  an  honest 
belief,  on  the  part  of  the  disciples,  that  the  act  of  Mary 
was  mistaken  and  censurable.  The  question  of  Judas 
was  most  plausible.  Even  in  these  days,  and  with  the 
keenly  discriminating  judgment  of  the  Saviour  here 
pronounced  in  view,  Christian  people  are  often  found 
taking  sides  in  favor  of  Judas  and  against  Mary.  The 
cases  are  by  no  means  rare,  in  which  the  spirit  of  a  low 
utilitarianism  is  found  ruling  the  church,  exclaiming 
against  all  costly  gifts  to  the  honor  of  the  Saviour  as  so 
much  w^aste ;  and  equally  prevalent  is  the  spirit  of  a 
false  humanitarianism,  which  makes  the  relief  of  the 
poor  the  supreme  religious  duty.  There  were  some 
things  in  which  the  veteran  Apostles  of  our  Lord,  dulled 
in  their  affections  by  earth-born  expectations  and  warped 
in  their  judgments  by  special  reasonings,  could  be  taught 
and  rebuked  by  the  conduct  of  a  simple-minded,  single- 
hearted  woman,  who,  in  an  affectionate  devotion  to  the 
person  of  her  Lord,  wdth  humble  and  almost  passionate 
gratitude,  threw  herself  at  his  feet  and  lavished  upon 
him  her  choicest  treasures. 

The  Lord  speedily  comes  to  the  relief  of  the  loving 
but  troubled  Mary,  sternly  remonstrating  with  the  dis- 
ciples, approving  w^iat  she  has  done,  pronouncing  it  "a 
good  work,"  disclosing  the  principle  upon  which  the 
lavish  employment  of  Mary's  wealth  in  the  manner  de- 
ls* 


150  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

scribed  may  be  justified,  even  in  view  of  the  needs  of  the 
poor,*  and  pronouncing  that  wonderful  prophecy  of 
honor  upon  Mary,  that  "wheresoever  this  gospel  shall 
be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  there  shall  also  this, 
that  this  woman  hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of 
her." 

It  is  of  this  prophecy  that  we  desire  to  say  a  word, 
before  concluding  this  chapter.  Nothing  of  like  form 
is  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  the  gospels,  or  in- 
deed of  the  whole  Bible.     The  Master  seems  to  have 

*  The  principle  on  -which  Jesus  justifies  the  conduct  of  Mary,  seems  to 
be  this;  that  extraordinary  tokens  of  love  and  honor  done  to  himself  are 
permissible  on  extraordinary  occasions.  Mary,  feeling  her  infinite  indebt- 
edness to  Christ,  her  brother's  deliverer,  her  own  soul's  Saviour,  and  having 
few  opportunities  to  express  her  grateful  love  and  her  desire  to  honor  hor 
Lord — not  knowing  indeed  when,  if  ever,  she  shall  have  another  such  op- 
portunity, had  done  well  to  seize  and  improve  this. 

Every  one  is  disposed  to  give  honorable  and  costly  interment  to  deceased 
friends.  The  occasion  is  believed  to  call  for  it.  We  clothe  their  bodies  in 
expensive  garments ;  we  encase  them  in  coffins  of  beautiful  wood — lined 
within  and  silvered  without.  We  construct  for  them  spacious  vaults,  or 
erect  over  them  the  monumental  marble.  No  one  asks,  "  Wh}'  this  waste?" 
although  nothing  of  it  can  benefit  the  dead.  Thus  is  it,  and  thus  has  it 
been,  always  and  everywhere.  Thus  was  it  with  the  Jews.  And  this  illus- 
tration our  Saviour  uses,  to  set  forth  the  propriety  of  Mary's  conduct. 
*'  She  has  come  to  anoint  my  body  beforehand  for  the  burial."  "  Her  anoint- 
ing, under  the  extraordinary  circumstances  of  the  case,  truly  honors  me, 
and  is  appropriate  and  commendable,  as  would  be  the  case  if  she  knew 
that  it  was  the  last  sad  rite,  the  last  pious  offering  made  for  my  sepulture." 

We  do  not  think  that  Mary  intended  her  anointing  as  literally  a  rite  of 
sepulture,  as  some  seem  to  think.  (See  Alford.)  How  could  it  have  this 
character,  in  her  estimation  ?  Yet  the  words  of  the  Saviour  have  an  addi- 
tional significance,  when  we  associate  them  with  his  death  and  burial  soon 
to  occur.  It  is  as  if  Jesus  had  said.  In  the  light  of  these,  you  will  judge  of 
this  deed  of  Mary  more  justly.  You  will  see  that  Mary  did  well  to  embrace 
the  opportunity — the  only  one  ever  to  be  afforded  her,  for  expressing  her 
grateful  love,  and  honoring  me  in  the  extraordinary  manner  which  you 
have  witnessed. 


THE   ANOINTING    BY   MARY.  IT)! 

been  tliorouirlily  roused  to  tlic  desirableness  of  affixing 
the  seal  of  liis  unmistakable  approbation  to  the  deed  of 
Mary,  so  grievously  misunderstood  by  the  whole  body 
of  the  Apostles,  and  of  sending  down  this  instance  of 
Christian  conduct,  approved  by  him  against  the  ex- 
pressed judgment  of  his  disciples,  for  the  perpetual 
and  peculiar  admiration  of  his  people  in  all  genera- 
tions. 

Now  is  it  not  most  remarkable  that  the  two  Evange- 
lists who  record  this  prediction,  and  who  are  thereby 
instrumental  in  securing  its  fulfillment,  do  not  mention 
the  name  of  Mary  in  connection  with  the  prediction, 
nor  in  any  part  of  their  narrative  here?  Yet  this  is  the 
case.  And,  from  them  alone,  we  should  never  have  been 
able  even  to  conjecture  who  was  the  person  so  peculiarly 
honored  of  the  Lord.  We  should  have  known  nothing 
more  than  that  it  was  "a  woman.''  And  is  it  not 
further  remarkable  that  the  Evangelist  John,  who  gives 
the  name  of  Mary  in  connection  with  the  anointing, 
and  thus  permits  us  to  associate  her  name  with  the 
honorable  prediction  of  Christ,  does  not  himself  record 
that  prediction?  Yet  it  will  be  seen,  upon  examination, 
that  he  does  not  make  the  sliglitest  allusion  to  it. 

Thus  does  John's  gospel  here  seem  particularly  in- 
tended to  supplement  the  others.  AYho  w^ould  part 
with  the  name  of  Mary  of  Bethany  from  this  account? 
Who  Avould  remove  the  name  from  any  monument  re- 
cording a  deserved  eulogy?  And,  in  this  instance,  we 
see  Matthew  and  Mark  erecting  the  monument  and 
writing  the  eulogy,  Avhile  John  comes  in  with  the  in- 
scription of  the  needed  name. 


152  HOURS  AMONG  THE  GOSPELS. 

Her  eyes  are  homes  of  silent  prayer. 

Nor  other  thought  her  mind  admits, 
But — he  was  dead,  and  there  he  sits. 

And  He  that  brought  him  back  is  there. 

Then  one  deep  love  doth  supersede 

All  other — when  her  ardent  gaze 
Roves  from  the  living  brother's  face. 

And  rests  upon  the  Life  indeed. 

All  subtle  thought,  all  curious  fears, 
Borne  down  by  gladness  so  complete; 

She  bows,  she  bathes  the  Saviour's  feet 
With  costly  spikenard  and  with  tears. 

Thrice  blest  whose  lives  are  faithful  prayers, 

"Whose  loves  in  higher  love  endure; 
What  souls  possess  themselves  so  pure, 

Or  is  there  blessedilfcss  like  theirs?  Tenntsok. 


XXVI. 

The   Jicsolution  of  >Tudns  to  bet  rat/  his   Jjord,    and    its    Itnniedlate 
Occasion. 

Luke  xxi.  3;  John  xii.  2-8. 

The  Jewish  Council,  shortly  after  the  raising  of 
Lazarus,  had  formally  resolved  upon  the  destruction  of 
Jesus.*  Again  and  again,  during  the  few  days  pre- 
ceding his  last  passover,  they  sought  to  lay  hands  on 
him  as  he  taught  in  the  temple,  but  failed  of  their  de- 
sire because  of  the  friendly  multitudes  who  surrounded 
him.  Finding  themselves  thus  baffled,  they  turned  their 
attention  to  more  secret  measures;  "they  consulted  that 
they  might  take  Jesus  by  subtilty  and  kill  him." 
They  thought  it  best,  however,  to  postpone  the  matter 
until  after  the  passover  festival,  when  there  would  be 
less  likelihood  of  popular  interference.  "But  they  said. 
Not  on  the  feast-day,  lest  there  be  an  uproar  among  the 

people."! 

For  a  year  Judas  had  been  consorting  with  Jesus  and 
the  Apostles  only  for  base  purposes.^  No  doubt  he 
still  hoped  that  Jesus  would  sooner  or  later  establisli  a 
worldly  kingdom,  in  which,  as  one  of  the  Apostles,  he 
might  enjoy  great  worldly  honor  and  emolument. 
Meanwhile  his  avaricious  greed  was  to  some  extent 
gratified  by  frequent  purloinings  from   the  company's 

*  John  xi.  53.  f  ^^^tt.  xxvi.  3-5.  J  See  i)p.  89,  90. 

G  *  153 


154  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 


little  purse.  Yet  we  may  conceive  tliat  Judas  antici- 
pated with  eager  desire  the  arrival  of  the  period  of  his 
Master's  worldly  exaltation,  and  chafed  with  impatience 
at  its  long  delay.  He  had  observed,  too,  we  cannot  but 
think,  the  anxiety  of  the  Jewish  Rulers  to  get  the 
Master  into  their  hands,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
had  thus  far  been  baffled.  We  read  now  of  his  going 
privately  to  the  Rulers,  and  engaging  with  them  to  de- 
liver his  Master  to  their  power. 

Concerning  his  crime  herein,  we  need  not  entertain 
any  extreme  view.  We  need  not  imagine  that  it  was 
not  instigated  to  any  extent  by  malice,  nor  that  it  was 
instigated  by  simple  malice.  His  motives  were  no 
doubt  base  and  foul,  even  when  not  simply  malicious ; 
and  malice  mingled  in  the  entire  transaction.  His 
avarice  found  room  for  exercise,  as  is  evident  from  the 
account  of  his  dealings  with  the  priests.  His  first  ques- 
tion to  them  is,  "  What  will  ye  give  me,  and  I  will  de- 
liver him  unto  you?"  "And  they  covenanted  with  him 
for  thirty  pieces  of  silver."  Possibly  Judas  may  have 
hoped  to  precipitate  upon  his  Master  the  necessity  of 
assuming  his  regal  powers,  and  erecting  his  throne,  by 
the  miraculous  overthrow  of  his  enemies.  Possibly  he 
may  not  have  distinctly  contemplated  the  death  of  his 
Master  as  the  consequence  of  betrayal.  Or,  in  the 
event  of  his  Master's  death,  perhaps  he  thought  of  that 
strange  saying  of  Christ,  that  in  his  being  put  to  death 
"all  things  that  are  written  by  the  prophets  concerning 
the  Son  of  man  shall  be  accomplished."  Judas  may 
have  reasoned  thus;  "even  if  he  should  be  killed,  it  is 
only  what  he  seems  to  expect,  only  what  he  consents  to, 
only  what  he  says  has  been  predicted  and  predetermined. 


THE    UKTRAYKll    RESOLVED.  If);") 


My  agonnv  in  (l('lIvorin<;'  liim  to  tlic  priests,  then,  can 
make  no  dillerence."  It  seems  to  have  been  some  such 
thouo-ht  that  Jesus  addressed,  when  afterward  he  de- 
clared, in  the  presence  of  Judas,  "The  Son  of  man  in- 
deed goeth,  as  it  is  writ'ten  of  him :  but  wo  to  tlie  man 
by  whom  tlie  Son  of  man  is  betrayed !  Good  were  it 
for  that  man  if  he  had  never  been  born."* 

Yet  mingling  with  and  underlying  all  tliat  was  ava- 
ricious and  selfish  in  the  motives  of  Judas,  in  his  act  of 
treachery,  was  a  diabolical  malice,  Judas  was  now  turned 
in  heart  to  be  an  enemy  of  Jesus.  He  had  come  to  dis- 
like or  even  hate  the  Saviour,  and  could  take  ready  part 
against  him  with  those  who  sought  his  life.  This  the 
record  plainly  intimates.  "  Then,"  says  Luke,  "  entered 
Sedan  into  Judas  surnamed  Iscariot,  being  of  the  number 
of  the  Twelve.  And  he  went  his  way  and  communed 
with  the  chief  priests."  Judas  submitted  himself  to  the 
power  of  tlie  Wicked  One,  and  acted  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Prince  of  Hate,  when  he  betrayed  his  Saviour  to  his 
foes. 

The  language  of  the  record  suggests  the  sudden  com- 
ing of  a  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  Judas ;  "  Then 
entered  Satan  into  Judas."  Perhaps  the  false  Apostle 
had  often  before  dimly  thought  of  betraying  his  Master, 
at  some  indefinite  future  time.  But  now  he  is  fully  re- 
solved at  once  to  undertake  it.  Satan  may  often  before 
have  prompted  Judas,  but  now  he  takes  possession  of 
him  and  controls  him. 

It  is  most  interesting  to  mark  not  only  the  critical  pe- 
riods in  the  life  of  this  most  wretched  man,  but  also  i\\Q 
evident  occasions  of  their  occurrence.     Already  we  have 

*  Mark  xiv.  21,  and  parallel.^. 


156  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

considered  one  such  period  and  its  occasion ;  now  we 
may  observe  another.  For  not  only  does  the  record,  as 
we  have  noticed,  here  suggest  a  crisis  in  the  history  of 
Judas,  but  a  comparison  of  the  different  writers  enables 
us  to  discern  a  most  natural  occasion  for  it.  Let  us 
see. 

Luke  writes,  as  already  quoted,  "  Then  entered  Satan 
into  Judas."  The  question  is.  When  f  Bringing  Luke 
into  comparison  with  Matthew  and  Mark,  we  find  that 
the  time  is  just  subsequent  to  the  supper  at  Bethany.* 
Luke  omits  all  reference  to  this  supper,  probably  because 
elsewhere  he  records  a  transaction  similar  to  that  which 
this  involves.f  Thus,  reading  the  narrative  of  Luke  by 
itself,  w^e  should  never  imagine  that  the  entrance  of  Satan 
into  Judas  had  any  connection  with  the  occurrences  of 
the  supper.  But  what  occasion  for  this  was  afforded  by 
any  of  those  occurrences  ?  Surely  it  is  not  difficult,  in 
the  light  of  what  is  said  in  the  last  chapter,  to  perceive 
an  easy  occasion. 

The  anointing  of  our  Saviour  by  Mary,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  the  chief  incident  of  the  supper.  We  have 
observed  the  angry  commotion  aroused  against  Mary,  at 
the  instance  of  Judas.  AYe  have  observed  the  prompt 
and  energetic  interference  of  Jesus,  sternly  rebuking  his 
disciples  and  honoring  Mary.     A  little  reflection  on  these 

*  We  follow  the  order  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  rather  than  that  of  John. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  records  decisive  of  the  question  of  order,  as  be- 
tween the  Evangelists,  and  it  makes  no  difference,  so  far  as  the  line  of  re- 
mark made  in  the  chapter  is  concerned,  which  Evangelist  we  follow.  Al- 
FORD  is  too  positive,  when,  on  Matt.  xxvi.  6,  he  observes,  "  This  history 
of  the  anointing  of  our  Lord  is  here  inserted  out  of  its  chronological  place. 
It  occurred  six  days  before  the  passover." 

t  Luke  vii.  36-50. 


THE  BETRAYER  RESOLVED.  157 

particulars  will  reveal  a  sufficient  occasion  for  the  crisis 
which  so  soon  Wiis  reached  in  the  life  of  Judas. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  plain  that  Judas  was  prominent 
and  earnest  in  this  scene.  John's  account  fully  implies 
this.  It  was  he  who  began  the  controversy  with  Mary, 
and  his  first  utterance  was  an  outburst  of  indignation. 
The  earnestness  of  Judas  might  also  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  Mary's  act  was  dictated  by  a  spirit  in  total  con- 
trast and  thorough  antagonism  with  that  of  Judas.  His 
cold,  selfish  heart  not  only  could  not  approve,  but  utterly 
abhorred,  her  beautiful  act  of  self-oblivious,  self-sacrific- 
ing devotion.  Moreover,  he  probably  uttered  his  re- 
monstrance against  ^lary  with  great  assiu-anee,  having, 
as  he  supposed,  an  unanswerable  argument  in  the  obliga- 
tion to  relieve  the  poor,  and  receiving  the  countenance 
and  concurrence  of  his  fellow-disciples.  Thus  was  Judas 
personally  and  publicly  committed  in  his  controversy 
with  Mary. 

The  controversy,  too,  it  ought  to  be  observed,  bore,  in 
no  very  indirect  way,  against  the  Saviour,  as  well  as 
against  his  loving  disciple.  The  anointing  was  performed 
on  his  pei^on,  was  intended  to  do  him  honor,  and  as 
such  was  permitted  by  him.  The  controversy,  sifted  to 
the  bottom,  will  appear  very  much  as  a  personal  conflict 
between  Judas  and  his  Master. 

Bearing  this  in  mind,  and  then  seeing  how  promptly, 
how  decisively,  Jesus  takes  the  side  of  Mary  and  opposes 
Judas,  rebuking  him,  tearing  his  specious  argument  in 
pieces,  and  loading  with  everlasting  honor  her  whom 
Judas  sought  to  cover  with  reproach,  is  it  not  evident 
that  Judas  must  have  been  to  the  last  degree  humiliated 
and  mortified  ?■    While  his  fellow-disciples  were  all  put 

14 


158  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

to  shame,  his  head  must  have  hmig  lowest,  his  spirit 
must  have  been  cut  deepest.  And  how  natural,  especially 
when  the  controversy  had  been  so  nearly  of  a  personal 
sort,  that  with  his  feeling  of  intense  shame  should  have 
risen  the  kindlings  of  angry  resentment  against  Jesus! 
And  nolo,  ah,  fit  opportunity !  Satan  enters  and  turns 
the  resentment  into  bitter  malice.  And  though  never 
before  resolved,  it  is  easy  for  him  now,  with  unflinching, 
hateful  purpose,  to  seek  the  enemies  of  his  Master,  that 
in  forwarding  their  plans  he  may  revenge  himself. 

All  this  seems  natural ;  the  deductions  are  not  forced. 
Yet  reviewing  them,  let  us  observe  the  circuitous  way 
by  which  we  have  been  led,  and  the  incidental  manner 
in  which  our  conclusions  are  established. 

The  Evangelist  John,  who  alone  tells  us  that  Judas 
was  specially  displeased  with  Mary's  act,  alone  omits  to 
tell  us  that  Judas  now  went  to  the  priests  to  betray  his 
Master.  John  enables  us  to  see  how  Judas  might  now 
have  been  provoked  to  the  deed  of  treachery,  yet  he  says 
nothing  here  concerning  the  treachery. — Matthew  and 
Mark,  both  of  whom  speak  of  Judas  going  to  the  priests 
immediately  after  the  supper  at  Bethany,  do  not  mention 
Judas  in  their  account  of  the  supper,  and  give  us  no  clue 
to  the  probable  reason  for  his  resolving  on  the  act  of 
betrayal  just  at  this  time. — Luke,  as  already  seen,  omit- 
ting the  account  of  the  supper,  and  of  course  all  reference 
to  the  particular  conduct  of  Judas  at  the  supper,  nar- 
rates, j  ust  as  do  Matthew  and  Mark,  his  going  to  the 
priests,  l)ut  prefaces  his  account  with  the  words,  "  thm 
entered  Satan  into  Judas,"  without  explanation. 

Yet  the  partial  narratives  when  put  together  have  a 
comjileteness.     Luke  assures  us  of  a  crisis  in  Judas'  life. 


THE    BETRAYER    RESOLVED.  1')!) 

Matthew  and  Mark  inform  us  ichcn  it  came.  Jolin  tells 
us  hoxo  it  came. — Luke  avers  that  "  tlicii  ^Satau  entered 
into  Judas."  We  ask,  When  did  this  occur  ?  and  Mat- 
thew and  Mark  answer,  In  connection  with  the  anointing 
at  Bethany.  AVe  ask  again,  What  occasion  did  the  an- 
ointing give  for  such  a  crisis?  and  John  answers,  It  was 
our  Saviour's  withering  rebuke  of  Judas. 


XXVII. 

Christ's  saying,  "I  ant  among  you  as  lie  tJiat   Serveth/*  and  His 
Washing  the  Disciples'  Feet. 

Luke  xxii.  27;  John  xiii.  1-17. 

Already  we  have  observed  the  contention  among  the 
disciples  for  pre-eminence  at  the  last  passover  supper. 
This  unseemly  and  strange  conduct  we  have  accounted 
for  as  resulting  from  our  Saviour's  teaching  concerning 
the  consummation  of  his  ministry  now  at  hand.* 

The  contention  here  began  just  as  they  were  seating 
themselves  at  table,  and  probably  first  took  the  form  of 
rival  claims  for  positions  of  honor  at  the  table.  The 
strong  desire  for  such  positions,  was,  in  general  with  our 
Saviour's  contemporaries,  a  more  notable  matter  than  we, 
with  our  habits,  can  easily  imagine.  One  of  the  special 
sins  of  the  Pharisees  denounced  by  Christ  was  that  of 
"  loving  the  uppermost  rooms  "  or  places,  "  at  feasts."t 
And  one  of  our  Lord's  parables  was  spoken,  when,  din- 
ing with  one  of  the  Pharisees,  "  he  marked  how  they 
chose  out  the  chief  rooms."{  The  strife  among  the  dis- 
ciples, arising  upon  the  occasion  mentioned,  and  at  first 
having  respect  to  the  honorable  places  at  the  table,  no 
doubt  before  it  was  done  included  their  general  claims 
to  places  of  dignity  in  the  coming  kingdom  of  the  Mes- 
siah.    There  was  probably  an  earnest  canvass  of  merits, 

«-  See  Ch.  XVL  f  Matt,  xxiii.  6.  %  Luke  xiv.  7. 

160 


THE   FEET-WASIIINO.  IGl 

each  pressing  his  own  claims.  The  contention  would  be 
the  more  warm,  if,  as  we  may  think  not  impossible,  ihay 
imagined  that  this  supper  was  to  be  signalized  by  some 
advance  step  being  taken,  in  connection  with  it,  toward 
the  inauguration  of  the  kingdom  of  God.*  Luke  writes, 
"  And  there  was  also  a  strife  among  them,  which  of  them 
should  be  the  greatest." 

Jesus  of  course  does  not  permit  the  occurrence  to  pass 
unnoticed.  He  interposes,  with  words  of  gentle  but  firm 
remonstrance.  He  tells  them,  much  as  he  had  done  once 
before,  that  while  "  the  Kings  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  lord- 
ship over  them ;  and  they  that  exercise  authority  upon 
them  are  accounted  Benefactors,"  it  shall  not  be  so  in 
his  kingdom  and  amongst  his  disciples.f  On  the  con- 
trary, "  he  that  is  greatest  among  you,  let  him  be  as  the 
younger ;  and  he  that  is  chief  as  he  that  doth  serve." 
And,  as  before,  he  cites  his  own  example,  representing 
himself  as  a  servant  of  others.  He  asks,  "  whether  is 
greater,  he  that  sitteth  at  meat,  or  he  that  serveth  ?"  and 
adds,  in  words  w^hose  full  significance  w^e  shall  presently 
perceive,  "  but  I  am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth." 

This  rebuke  of  the  Saviour  perhaps  seems  to  us,  in 
view  of  all  the  circumstances,  strangely  mild.  This  was 
now  the  third  time  that  the  disciples  had  been  guilty  of 
the  same  misdemeanor.^  On  both  previous  occasions 
the  Master  had  remonstrated  with  them.  Would  it  not 
appear  that  their  grievous  fault,  thus  persisted  in,  de- 
manded from  the  Saviour  something  more  than  the  sim- 
ple repetition  of  former  remonstrance  ?  AYould  it  not 
have  been  manifestly  appropriate,  if  the  Saviour  had 
embraced  the  present  opportunity,  so  to  rebuke  the  vain 

*  Luke  xxii.  16,  18.  f  Matt.  xx.  25-28.  J  Ch.  XVI. 

14  * 


162  HOUKS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

aspirings  of  his  disciples,  that  they  would  never  be  likely 
to  fall  again  into  their  present  error,  and  to  impress  upon 
their  hearts  a  lesson  of  humility  utterly  indelible  ?  We 
could  not  of  course  affirm  beforehand  that  our  Saviour 
ought  to  have  done  this,  yet  we  can  see  that  if  he  had 
chosen  to  do  this,  it  would  have  seemed  every  way  ap- 
propriate to  the  circumstances. 

Well,  bringing  the  gospel  by  John  into  proper  rela- 
tions with  that  of  Luke,  we  find  that  Jesus  actually  did 
what  we  have  supposed  he  might  most  suitably  have 
done.  We  find  that  his  words  in  Luke,  "but  I  am 
among  you  as  he  that  serveth,"  have  reference  not  merely 
to  his  general  work  of  humility,  but  to  a  specific  service 
which  at  that  moment  he  undertakes.  We  find  that  for 
a  little  Jesus  was  literally  not  "  sitting  at  meat,"  but 
moving  among  his  disciples,  performing  an  office  of  all 
others  most  servant-like. 

The  narrative  of  the  feet-washing  given  in  John,  as 
all  may  readily  see,  comes  in  at  the  beginning  of  the 
passover-meal,  and  hence  is  to  be  placed  in  juxtaposition 
wdth  the  narrative  before  us  in  Luke.  We  encounter 
here,  indeed,  a  most  unfortunate  mistranslation  in  John, 
which  often  prevents  the  English  reader  from  perceiving 
the  proper  connection.  We  read  that  "supper  being 
mded^^  Jesus  proceeded  to  wash  his  disciples'  feet.* 
The  proper  translation  is,  "  supper  being  made  or  'pre- 
jyaredP  It  was  the  heginning  of  the  meal,  rather  than 
the  close.  ISTot  only  is  this  in  accordance  with  the  usage 
of  the  Greek  word,t  but  it  is  equally  in  accordance  with 
what  we  know  of  Oriental  custom.  The  sandals  were 
removed  and  the  feet  washed,  on  entering  the  house  and 

*  John  xiii.  2.  f  See  Alford's  Greek  Testament. 


THE    FEET-WASIIING.  163 

taking  the  ret'liiilni;'  })ostiire  at  table,  ratlier  tliaii  Avlieii 
the  meal  was  over  and  the  house  about  to  be  left. 

Behold  then  the  scene.  No  one  is  at  hand,  as  they 
seat  themselves  at  table,  to  undertake  the  customary 
grateful  but  menial  office.  In  the  absence  of  servants, 
some  humble  disciple  might  well  have  volunteered  to 
perform,  in  behalf  of  his  Master  and  even  of  his  fellow- 
disciples,  what  would  so  greatly  conduce  to  their  com- 
fort. But  no.  The  thoughts  of  the  disciples  are  run- 
ning in  precisely  the  opposite  direction.  Not  dreaming 
of  the  claims  or  dignity  of  useful  service,  they  are  just 
now  at  the  height  of  their  noisy  strife  for  superior  place. 
And  Jesus,  having  rebuked  them  with  such  language  as 
we  have  read,  proceeds  to  impress  upon  them,  by  a  most 
memorable  act,  his  lesson  of  humility. 

Rising  from  the  place  he  had  just  taken,*  he  sets  about 
the  performance  of  that  lowly  service  for  his  disciples, 
which  none  of  them  had  been  considerate  enough  to 
undertake  even  for  himself.  He  moves  silently  and  with 
great  deliberation,  deferring  any  explanation  of  his  con- 
duct until  he  is  done.  He  lays  aside  his  upper  garments, 
takes  a  towel,  binds  it  about  him,  pours  water  into  a 
basin,  and  comes  to  his  disciples. 

No  doubt  the  noisy  debate  has  ceased.  No  doubt  the 
whole  company  of  the  Twelve  are  looking  on  in  curious 
w^onder.  Perhaps  as  they  begin  to  understand  what  he 
is  doing,  their  cheeks  crimson  with  shame.  No  marvel 
that  when  the  Master  approaches  Peter,  that  outspoken 
disciple  exclaims  against  the  proceeding.  Jesus  persisting 
in  iha  service,  and  completing  it,  with  the  same  delibera- 
tion which  marked  him  at  the  outset,  resumes  his  place 

*  TnoLucK  vs.  Olshausen. 


164  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

at  the  table,  and  proceeds  to  an  explanation  of  his  con- 
duct, the  terms  of  which  clearly  show  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  Saviour,  in  what  he  had  done,  to  rebuke 
the  unseemly  strife  of  his  disciples.  "He  said  unto  them, 
Know  ye  what  I  have  done  to  you  ?  Ye  call  me  Master 
and  Lord  -,  and  ye  say  Avell ;  for  so  I  am.  If  I  then, 
your  Lord  and  Master,  have  washed  your  feet ;  ye  also 
ought  to  wash  one  another's  feet.  For  I  have  given  you 
an  example,  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  to  you. 
Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  The  servant  is  not  greater 
than  his  Lord ;  neither  he  that  is  sent  greater  than  he 
that  sent  him.  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye 
if  ye  do  them." 

Thus  does  the  narrative  in  John  incidentally  explain 
and  enforce  the  narrative  in  Luke,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  as  the  readers  of  John's  gospel  may  readily  see,  it 
directly  serves  the  special  purpose  of  that  Evangelist ; 
his  gospel  having  a  completeness  of  its  own,  while  often 
supplementing  the  others.  And  thus  do  the  narratives 
combined  present  a  fuller  picture  of  a  most  interesting 
scene  in  the  Saviour's  ministry  than  is  afforded  by  either 
of  them  separately. 


XXVIII. 

Position  of  Judas  at  the  rassover  Table. 
Matt.  xxvi.  21-25;  Mark  xiv.  18-21;  Luke  xxii.  21-23 ;  John  xiii.  21-31. 

The  designation  by  Jesus  of  tlie  betrayer  at  the  pass- 
over  table,  is  recorded  with  a  variety  of  details  by  the 
several  Evangelists.    In  a  hurried  reading  of  the  different 
writei^,  one  at  one  time  and  another  at  another,  these 
details  not  unfrequently  produce  confusion,  instead  of 
serving  to  bring  the  whole  scene  to  view  with  graphic 
clearness.     If,  however,  we  will  take  the  trouble  to  bring 
the  accounts  together  in  parallel  columns,  as  is  done  in 
some  of  the  Harmonies,  and  will  then  carefully  comj^are 
the  details  and  arrange  them  in  the  probable  order  of 
actual  occurrence,  we  shall  be  surprised  at  the  clearness 
and  completeness  of  the  representation,  and  also  at  some 
of  the  necessary  inferential  results.*     Let  us  now  exam- 

-»  Alford,  who  along  with  great  scholarly  learning  exhibits  an  antipathy 
to  the  Harmonists  well  nigh  puerile,  and  pushes  the  idea  of  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  several  Evangelists  to  an  extreme  well  nigh  absurd,  thus 
writes  on  Matt.  xxvi.  20-25.  "Not  that  I  have  any  desire  to  reduce  the 
four  accounts  to  a  harmonized  narrative,  for  that  I  believe  to  be  impossi- 
ble, and  the  attempt  wholly  unprofitable."  It  seems  much  the  fashion  just 
now  to  decry  all  harmonistic  study.  For  this  reason  we  are  the  more  glad 
to  find,  in  the  page^  of  the  learned  and  j.ious  Ellicott,  the  following; 
"  It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  the. tendency  of  our  more  modern  study  of 
the  Gospels  is  to  regard  every  attempt  to  harmonize  the  sacred  narrative 
^ith  indifference,  if  not  sometimes  even  with  suspicion.  ...  We  may  with 
justice  most  strongly  urge  the  extreme  imporlance,  nU  cny  in  a  mere 

165 


166  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

ine  these  details,  as  they  would  thus  present  themselves, 
and  observe  the  results. 

Jesus  had  already  exhibited  much  feeling,  in  anticipa- 
tion of  the  treachery  of  Judas.*  Now,  in  deep  anguish 
of  heart,  he  makes  solemn  announcement  of  the  fact  that 
he  shall  be  betrayed  by  one  of  his  own  disciples ;  "  Pie 
was  troubled  in  spirit  and  testifledy     (John.) 

See  the  different  forms  of  this  announcement,  as  re- 
ported. They  were  yet  at  table.  "  As  they  did  eat," 
says  jMatthew.  "  As  they  sat  and  did  eat,"  says  Mark. 
Both  Matthew  and  IMark  precede  the  announcement  with 
the  emphatic,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you."  John,  according 
to  his  custom,  uses  the  double  Yerily.  Luke  simply 
says,  "Behold." — Matthew  and  John  write,  "One  of  you 
shall  betray  me."  Mark  has  it,  "  One  of  you  which  eat- 
eth  with  me  shall  betray  me."  Luke  varies  the  expres- 
sion more  widely,  "  The  hand  of  him  that  betrayeth  me 
is  with  me  on  the  table." 

This  announcement  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the 
little  company  of  the  Twelve.  They  saw  a  dreadful 
meaning  in  Jesus'  words,  which  they  had  failed  to  see, 
when,  in  a  more  indefinite  way  and  mingled  with  other 
matters,  he  had  predicted  his  betrayal. f  Instantly  all 
was  the  anguish  of  grief  and  self-distrust  and  perplexity. 
"They  began  to  be  sorrowful."  (Mark.)  "They  were 
exceeding  sorrowful."  (Matthew.)     Unsuspicious  of  any 

critical,  but  even  in  a  devotional  point  of  view,  of  obtaining  as  complete 
and  connected  a  view  of  our  Lord's  life  and  ministry  as  can  possibly  be 
obtained  from  our  existing  inspired  records.  And  this,  let  it  be  remem- 
bered, can  only  be  done  by  that  patient  and  thoughtful  comparison  of 
Scripture  with  Scripture  which  now  finds  such  little  favor  with  so  many 
theologians  of  our  present  day. — Life  of  Christ. — Foot-note,  p.  216. 
*•  John  xiii.  18-20.  f  Matt.  xx.  18,  and  parallels. 


JUDAS  AT  THE  PASSOVER  TABLE.        1G7 

one  of  tlieir  niimbcr  in  particular,  tbcy  "looked  on  one 
another,  cl(>ul)ting  of  -Nvlioni  he  spake;"  (Jolin;)  "they 
began  to  inquire  among  themselves  which  of  them  it 
"Nvas  that  should  do  this  thing."  (Luke.)  And  eacli 
being  suspicious  of  himself  rather  than  of  any  of  his 
fellows,  "they  began  every  one  to  say  unto  him,"  (Mat- 
thew,) "one  by  one,"  (Mark,)  "Lord,  is  it  I?"  (Mat- 
thew^ and  Mark.)  The  confusion  of  the  disciples  and 
the  distress  of  the  INIaster  mingle  in  a  general  excite- 
ment. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  who  the  guilty  one  may 
be,  Jesus  at  first  responds  only  in  general  terms,  that  it 
is  one  of  the  Twelve  that  dippeth  with  him  in  the  dish/ 
(Matthew  and  Mark.)  This  seems  to  be  only  an  em- 
phatic repetition  of  what  he  had  already  declared ;  as 
if  he  had  said,  "  It  is  indeed  one  of  you,  my  professed 
disciples  and  familiar  friends."  To  John,  however, 
who  reclined  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  and  to  whom  Peter 
had  beckoned  that  he  should  ask  the  Lord  privately — 
the  only  apparent  object  of  such  a  signal — Jesus  an- 
swers, no  doubt  in  a  voice  too  low  for  the  others  to  hear 
— he  communicating  the  answer  as  quietly  as  John  had 
conveyed  the  question — "He  it  is  to  Avliom  I  shall  give 
a  sop,  when  I  have  dipped  it."  Perhaps  while  Peter 
was  signalling  John,  the  Saviour  makes  that  declaration, 
recorded  by  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John,  of  the  terrible 
guilt  of  the  betrayer,  even  tliough  his  act  instead  of 
hindering  actually  accomplishes  the  Divine  purpose,* 
"The  Son  of  man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  him;  but  woe 
unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed." 
To  this  he  adds,  according  to  Matthew  and  Mark,  those 

«•  Seep.  155. 


168  HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

]Dortentoiis  words,  "It  had  been  good  for  that  man  if 
he  had  not  been  born.'' 

Judas  having  somewhat  delayed  the  question  which 
the  others  just  now  were  proposing,  and  hoping  perhaps 
to  divert  suspicion  from  himself,  now  hypocritically  asks, 
"Master,  is  it  I?"  To  this  Jesus  gives  the  emphatic 
response,  "Thou  hast  said" — it  is  indeed  you.  (Mat- 
thew.) At  the  same  time,  Jesus  dips  a  piece  of  bread 
in  the  dish  and  passes  it  to  the  traitor.  (John.) 

And  speedily,  as  John  intimates,  Satan,  who  before 
had  been  busy  with  Judas,  takes  renewed  and  fuller 
2)ossession  of  him;  "And  after  the  sop  Satan  entered 
into  him."  The  knowledge  that  he  is  discovered  of  the 
Master,  fires  his  guilty  purpose.  Jesus  perceiving  this 
says  to  him,  in  a  voice  which  all  hear,  "That  thou  doest, 
do  quickly,"  and  he  hastens  forth  to  his  damning  work 
under  the  congenial  cover  of  the  darkness  of  night. 
(John.) 

Such  is  the  full  and  graphic  representation  afforded 
by  a  collation  of  the  various  incidents  and  expressions 
of  the  different  writers.  Yet,  for  us  now,  a  still  greater 
interest  may  be  derived  from  these  narratives,  by  cross- 
examination  and  the  reconciliation  of  apparent  disagree- 
ments. 

We  commonly  imagine,  from  the  reading  of  these  ac- 
counts, that  Jesus  had  plainly  designated  Judas  as  the 
betrayer,  to  the  whole  company,  before  Judas  withdrew. 
Jesus  had  told  John  that  the  traitor  was  he  to  whom  he 
should  give  the  morsel  when  he  had  dipped  it,  and 
dipping  it  he  gave  it  to  Judas.  So,  also,  Jesus  had  re- 
sponded to  the  question  of  Judas,  "Master,  is  it  I?"  in 
the  most  emphatic  manner,  assuring  him  that  he  was 


JUDAS  AT  THE  PASSOVER  TABLE.        1G9 

tlie  betrayer.  Must  not  the  wliolc  company  hereby 
have  been  informed  of  the  guilty  one? 

Yet,  from  what  the  Evann^elist  John  tells  us,  it  ap- 
pears that  when  Judas  withdrew  from  the  comj)any,  he 
was  still  unsuspected  by  his  fellow-disciples.  Jesus 
gave  him  the  ominous  command,  "That  thou  doest,  do 
quickly,"  yet  it  is  said  that  "no  man  at  the  tjible  knew 
for  what  intent  he  spake  this  unto  him."  The  disciples 
did  not  imagine  that  it  referred  to  any  wricked  conduct. 
Rather,  they  still  regarded  Judas  as  their  honored  purse- 
bearer,  and  supposed  that  the  Master  looked  to  him  as 
such,  for  the  performance  of  useful  duties  connected  with 
that  position.  "For  some  of  them  thought,  because 
Judas  had  the  bag,  that  Jesus  had  said  unto  him.  Buy 
those  things  that  we  have  need  of  against  the  feast;  or 
that  he  should  give  something  to  the  poor."  It  was  not 
possible,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  they  should  thus 
have  regarded  Judas,  had  they  just  before  seen  him 
pointed  out  by  the  Lord  as  the  betrayer,  and  had  they 
known  that  the  terrible  woe  of  the  Master  was  denounced 
against  him.  Probably  they  came  speedily  to  understand 
that  he  was  the  betrayer,  when  Jesus,  relieved  of  his 
presence,  began  at  once  to  pour  forth  his  soul,  now  no 
longer  troubled  but  calmed  and  elevated,  in  such  words 
as  these,  "Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified,  and  God  is 
glorified  in  him."* 

How,  then,  shall  we  construe  the  explicit  announce- 
ments made  by  the  Saviour,  first  to  John,  next  to  Judas  ? 
Undoubtedly  John  understood  from  the  Saviour  that 
Judas  was  the  betrayer.  But,  as  already  intimated,  the 
announcement  to  John  was  probably  made  in  a  low 

*:'■  Johu  xiii.  31. 
15  H 


170  HOURS    AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

voice,  which  none  others  heard,  this  being  easily  done 
because  of  John's  position,  next  to  Jesus.  And  John 
may  not  have  communicated  his  information  to  any  one 
— even  to  Peter,  the  very  manner  of  Jesus  in  imparting 
it  perhaps  operating  to  restrain  him.  And  so,  when 
John  says,  "  No  man  at  the  table  knew,"  he  means  no 
one  of  the  disciples  except  himself. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  Christ's  response  to  Judas? 
Judas  asked,  "Master,  is  it  I?"  and  Jesus  answered, 
"  Thou  hast  said."  Must  not  the  whole  company  have 
thus  been  unmistakably  assured  that  Judas  was  the 
traitor,  and  have  recoiled  from  him  in  horror  ?  Yet,  as 
we  have  seen,  even  after  this  they  did  not  suspect  him, 
but  regarded  him  with  favor,  and  supposed  him  to  be 
still  in  the  confidence  of  his  Master.  How  shall  we 
solve  this  diJfficulty  ?  The  solution  is  not  easy,  save  upon 
one  hypothesis,  and  npon  that  it  is  extremely  easy.  We 
may  at  first  be  startled  by  it ;  we  shall  certainly  find  it 
suggestive.  As  Jesus  could  speak  to  John,  mthout  the 
rest  of  the  Twelve  hearing  what  was  said,  for  the  reason 
that  John  was  next  him,  reclining  on  his  bosom;  so 
Jesus  could  speak  to  Judas,  in  the  emphatic  words, 
"  thou  hast  said,"  without  the  rest  of  the  Twelve  hearing 
the  language,  if  only  we  may  suppose  that  Judos  was 
next  the  Saviour  on  the  other  side,  or  that  Jesus  was  reclin- 
ing on  the  bosom  of  Judas  ! 

While  there  is  nothing  in  the  narrative  inconsistent 
with  this  supposition,  there  are  some  things  which  inci- 
dentally confirm  it.  For  example,  Jesus  could  not  well 
have  given  to  Judas  the  morsel  which  he  had  dipped, 
unless  Judas  had  been  near  him.  Besides,  it  would  prob- 
ably have  excited  suspicion  to  send  the  morsel  to  one  at 


JUDAS  AT  THE  PASSOVER  TABLE.        171 

a  distauce,  while  to  offer  it  to  the  one  next  at  liaiid  was 
to  follow  a  customaiy  token  of  friciulshi]). 

And,  although  it  may  seem  a  iancilid  rclineiiu'nt,  we 
confess  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  avoid  the  impres- 
sion, that  probably  the  strife  for  places  of  honor  at  tlie 
beginning  of  this  supper  had  been  led  by  Judas,  he  not 
being  able  to  reconcile  himself  to  the  preference  A\'hich 
Christ  exhibited  for  the  disciple  whom  he  loved,  without 
claiming  for  himself  the  position  of  next  or  equal  honor 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Master. 

Admitting  the  supposition,  do  we  not  find  it  amazingly 
suggestive  ?  Jesus  on  the  bosom  of  Judas,  at  the  moment 
his  black-hearted  treachery  was  ripening  for  execution ! 
And  how  doubly  impressive  becomes  the  Scripture  spoken 
beforehand  as  prophecy,  and  here  cited  by  the  Saviour 
and  applied  to  the  betrayer,  when  we  think  of  Judas  as 
thus  the  familiar  friend  of  Jesus,  and  thus  receiving  from 
his  hand  the  bread  of  friendship,  "  He  that  eateth  bread 
with  me,  hath  lifted  up  his  heel  against  me !" 


XXIX. 

Tlie  Agony  in  the  Garden;  as  ilhistrated  by  the  Temptation  in  the 
Wilderness, 

Matt.  xxvi.  36-46;  iv.  1-11,  and  jiarallels. 

Speculation  may  well  hesitate,  lest  with  unhallowed 
footstep  it  venture  within  the  sacred  enclosure  of  Geth- 
semane.  Still  it  is  permitted  us,  with  subdued  and  rev- 
erent spirit,  even  to  enter  the  garden's  innermost  retreat, 
and  to  ponder  the  spectacle  of  the  solitary  midnight 
wrestlings  of  the  Son  of  God,  amidst  the  deep  olive-shad- 
ows, when,  for  the  time,  a  more  than  mortal  anguish  had 
fallen  upon  him.* 

The  Master  and  the  disciples  having  reached  the  gar- 
den, he  withdraws  from  the  company,  going  to  the  place  of 
prayer.  He  is  not  wholly  unattended.  The  "  three  chosen 
of  the  Twelve  "  are  again  with  him.  And  now  the  wonder- 
ful serenity  of  spirit  which  he  had  before  preserved  forsakes 
him.  INIatthew  writes  that  "  he  began  to  be  sorrowful 
and  very  heavy."  Mark's  language  is  yet  more  strik- 
ing; "He  began  to  be  sore  amazed,  and   to   be  very 

*  Nothing  in  the  pages  of  M.  Renan  is  more  shocking  than  his  specula- 
tions on  this  most  sacred  scene.  Elsewhere,  in  frequent  instances,  he  suc- 
ceeds in  shrouding  the  dead  body  of  his  Unbelief  in  the  draperies  of  an 
attractive  Sentimentalism.  Here  his  art  was  defied.  He  has  doubtless 
done  his  best,  but  the  veil  is  thin  and  ragged,  and  the  corpse  stares  at  us 
in  ghastly  hideousness. 
172 


THE  ACONY  IN  THE  GARDEX.  ITS 

heavy."*  Not  only  did  he  experience  a  distre.ssiiil  .sink- 
ing of  soul,  but  a  sudden  terror  seized  him.  The  an- 
guish was  well  nigh  insupportable ;  life  itself  was  ready 
to  give  way.  He  exclaims,  "  jNIy  soul  is  exceeding  sor- 
rowful, even  unto  death."  Kelief  must  be  had,  and  he 
flies  to  God  in  prayer.  He  bids  his  disciple-companions 
wait  and  watch  with  him.  Then  going  "a  little  fur- 
ther," (Matthew,)  or  "  forward  a  little,"  (Mark,)  until 
"  he  was  withdrawn  from  them  about  a  stone's  cast,"  he 
"kneeled  down  and  prayed."  (Luke.)  His  very  posture 
soon  became  indicative  of  the  intensity  of  his  feelings ; 
for  he  prostrated  himself  on  the  ground,  (^lark,)  on  his 
face,  (Matthew,)  and  so — in  the  language  of  the  writer 
to  the  Hebrews — "  offered  up  his  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions with  strong  crying  and  teai-s  unto  him  that  was 
able  to  save  him  from  death." 

Mark  first  records  the  substance  of  his  prayer.  He 
"prayed  that,  if  it  were  possible,  the  hour  might  pass 
from  him."  Then  he  indicates  more  exactly,  as  do  the 
others,  the  language  of  Jesus.  Matthew  gives  the  words 
of  address,  "  O  my  Father,"  while  Mark  inserts  the  ad- 
ditional word  of  tenderness  and  trust,  ^'Abba  Father." 
He  prays  that  "  the  cup,"  that  is,  doubtless,  the  dreadful 
sufferings  appointed  to  him  for  the  coming  day,  may  be 
removed  from  his  lips.f     He  offers  this  prayer  in  reve- 

*  Alexander  in  loco  thus  writes,  "Sore  amazed,  a  very  strong  Greek 
word  denoting  both  surprise  and  consternation,  and  here  used  in  its  strong- 
est sense  to  signify  the  preternatural  depression  and  alarm,  of  which  our 
Saviour  condescended  to  partake,  as  the  rejircsentativc  and  surety  of  his 
people.  The  other  verb,  although  of  doubtful  derivation,  is  employed  by 
Xenophon  and  Plato  to  denote  extreme  anxiety  and  anguish." 

f  John  xviii.  11. 
15  * 


174  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

rent  submission  to  his  Father's  will:  "if  it  be  possible" 
— not  otherwise. 

The  agony  must  have  been  protracted;  for  the  dis- 
ciples during  its  continuance  were  overcome  with  sleep. 
It  was  now^,  apparently,  that,  as  Luke  informs  us,  "an 
angel  appeared  unto  him  from  heaven,  strengthening 
him."  And  probably  it  was  also  in  this  first  season  of 
protracted  supplication,  tliat,  according  to  Luke,  his 
agony  rose  to  such  height  and  fierceness,  that,  even  in 
the  cold  midnight  air,  his  body,  in  sympathy  with  his 
rent  and  crushed  spirit,  yielded  from  its  thousand  pores 
great  drops  of  clammy  sweat,  as  of  blood,  rolling  to  the 
ground. 

Coming  to  the  three  disciples,  whom  he  finds  asleep 
through  sorrow,  he  gently  chides  them,  administers 
needed  warning  and  caution,  then  goes  and  prays  the 
second  time.  Mark  says,  he  "spake  the  same  words." 
Probably  this  statement  was  not  meant  to  be  literally 
taken.  The  substance  of  the  j)rayer  was  doubtless  the 
same,  yet  from  what  Matthew  records  as  the  tenor  of  it, 
it  would  appear  that  now  the  desire  of  relief  from  his  an- 
ticipated sufferings  was  less  prominent  than  before.  The 
will  of  his  Father  that  he  should  suffer  seems  to  have 
been  uppermost  in  his  thoughts,  with  the  accompanying 
feeling  of  resignation.  The  language  now  is,  "O  my 
Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me  except  I 
drink  it,  thy  will  be  done." 

This  second  season  of  prayer  could  not  have  been 
brief;  for  again  the  disciples,  even  incited  to  wakefulness 
as  they  had  been  by  the  remonstrance  of  the  ^Master, 
were  found  asleep.  We  moy  infer  the  painfully  absorb- 
ing character  of  the  scenes  through  which  these  disciples 


THE   AGONY    IN    THE    GAIIDEX.  175 

for  hours  liad  been  passing,  when  we  see  tliat  now,  witli 
so  many  and  sneh  pressini;-  indueenients  to  vigilance,  tliey 
should,  to  tlu'Ir  own  utter  confusion,  thus  repeatedly  be 
overcome  with  sleep. 

But  the  conflict  was  not  yet  over.  AVe  infer  a  third 
season  of  prayer  from  Mark,  who  speaks  of  his  coming 
the  third  time  to  Ids  disciples,  while  Matthew  distinctly 
informs  us  that  "he  went  away  again  and  prayed  the 
third  time,  saying  the  same  words."  Perhaps  the  fea- 
ture of  acquiescence  in  the  Divine  will  was,  in  this  last 
exercise,  yet  more  prominent  and  became  all  absorbing. 
"He  was  heard,  in  that  he  feared,"  yielding  himself  with 
holy  and  unhesitating  submission  to  the  Divine  disposal. 
He  received  the  answer  to  his  prayer,  in  Divine  assur- 
ances and  comfort  and  strength,  enabling  him  with  re- 
newed serenity  of  spirit  to  move  forward  through  all  the 
dreadful  way  of  a  sacrificial  death  appointed  him. 

We  come  now  to  the  special  subject  of  this  chapter. 
It  is  a  question  of  much  interest, — What  was  the  excit- 
ing cause  of  these  dire  agonies  of  Jesus?  Kot  often, 
probably,  is  the  experience  of  our  Saviour  in  Gethsemane 
regarded  as  specifically  a  temptation  of  i\\Q,  devil.  Yet 
there  are  strong  reasons  for  so  regarding  it.  The  Wicked 
One,  it  is  true,  is  not  personally  introduced  into  the 
narrative.  Perhaps  that  was  for  the  reason  that  the  in- 
•timations  of  his  presence  given,  were  deemed  sufficient, 
without  an  express  mention  of  the  fact. 

When  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness  had  ended, 
the  devil  departed  from  Jesus,  as  we  read,  "  for  a  seii- 
son."  Here  is  an  intimation  that  he  would  return 
again,  in  like  manner  and  for  like  purpose  with  his 
present  appearing.     But  when   did  he  thus  personally 


176  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

return  to  the  Saviour?  We  are  not  informed  of  his 
doing  so  at  any  time.  Yet  we  find  our  Saviour  saying 
to  his  disciples,  on  the  very  evening  of  the  agony  in  the 
garden,  perhaps  only  an  hour  before  the  conflict  began, 
when  they  were  about  leaving  the  Passover  table  to  re- 
tire from  the  city,  "The  Prince  of  this  world  cometh 
and  hath  nothing  in  me."*  Here  is  a  distinct  intima- 
tion that  the  devil  was  even  now  at  hand,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  a  sifting  temptation ;  and  the  designation  of 
him  as  "the  Prince  of  this  world,"  looking  back  to  him 
as  he  had  last  appeared  in  the  temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness, when  he  tendered  the  Saviour  "all  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  and  the  glory  of  them,"  seems  to  anticipate 
from  him  such  another  fierce  onset  as  he  had  then  made 
in  person,  and  a  temptation  substantially  of  the  same 
character  with  that  which  he  then  urged. 

"With  the  idea  of  a  temptation  of  the  devil  best  com- 
ports the  sudden  seizure  of  the  mind  of  Jesus  with  the 
dread  of  those  sufferings  which  he  had  long  anticipated 
with  composure,  and  which  this  night  he  had  regarded 
from  a  point  of  such  elevation  that  they  seemed  already 
passed. f  Also  we  can  thus  all  the  more  readily  think 
of  this  whole  scene,  according  to  the  account  of  it  as  "an 
agony."  The  antagonism  of  the  Human  with  the  Di- 
vine will  of  the  Saviour,  in  a  conflict  such  as  is  here  de- 
scribed, is  by  no  means  of  such  easy  conception, , as  the 
antao;onism  of  Christ  with  the  devil. 

Regarding,  on  such  grounds,  the  agony  in  the  garden 
as  a  conflict  of  our  Saviour  with  the  Arch-adversary,  we 
are  not  surprised  to  find  many  coincidences  between  this 
scene  and  that  in  the  wilderness,  which  otherwise  might 

*  John  xiv.  30.  f  John  xvii.  4,  5. 


THE   AGONY   IN    THE   GAIIDEN.  177 

be  deemed  well  nii!,li  unaccountable.  In  both  cases,  our 
Saviour  was  in  retirement;  and  tlLcrc,  no  doubt,  as  hvrr, 
for  the  purpose  of  prayer.  There,  the  Tempter  made 
three  attacks;  here  Jesus  i)rayed  three  times,  as  though 
ids  distress  was  as  often  renewed.  TJiere  as  here,  anirels 
appear,  giving  personal  nnnistrations  to  the  Saviour, 
which  they  do-at  no  other  time.  On  both  occasions,  the 
time  is  critical  in  the  ministry  of  Christ.  Then,  he  wius 
about  opening  his  public  ministry;  now,  he  was  about 
closino;  and  crownino;  it. 

Not  only  so,  but  regarding  the  occurrences  in  the  gar- 
den as  a  scene  of  temptation  corresponding  to  that  in  the 
wilderness,  there  is  opened  to  us  a  wider  analogy.  AVe 
have  already  seen  that  as  the  Baptism  of  Christ  stood  at 
the  entrance  of  his  ministry  considered  as  a  whole,  so  his 
Transfiguration  stood  at  the  entrance  of  what  may  be 
called  his  passive  ministry.*  Kegarding  the  agony  in 
the  garden  as  a  conflict  with  the  Devil,  it  is  seen  to  oc- 
cupy the  same  relation  to  Christ's  ministry  of  special 
suffering,  which  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness  occu- 
pied to  Christ's  ministry  as  a  whole.  It  was  the  Sav- 
iour's next  most  striking  experience  after  that  of  the 
Transfiguration,  and  w^as  directly  introductory  to  his 
ministry  of  special  suffering ;  just  as  the  temptation  in 
the  wilderness  was  his  next  most  striking  experience 
after  that  of  the  Baptism,  and  was  directly  introductory 
to  his  wdiole  public  ministry. 

In  the  one  case  as  in  the  otlier,  the  Saviour  \vns 
tempted  to  forego  his  career  of  humiliation.  In  the 
wilderness,  the  temptation  addressed  chiefly  the  side  of 
our   nature   representing   Desire;    in   the   garden,   the 

«-  See  Ch.  11. 
H  * 


178  HOUR.S   AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

temptation  addressed  chiefly  the  side  of  our  nature  rep- 
resenting Fear,  Thus,  in  these  two  grand  instances  of 
personal  antagonism  with  the  Devil,  our  Saviour  is  seen 
to  have  been  "  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin." 


XXX. 

Tlie  two  cries  of  the  Feople,  "  Hosanna  to  the   Son  of  David,"  and 
"A-way  tvith  Sim^  Crucify  Him," 

Matt.  xxi.  9 ;  Luke  xxiii.  21,  and  their  parallels. 

The  most  impressive  instance  of  popular  caprice  found 
in  all  history,  is  commonly  imagined  to  be  that  afforded 
by  the  two  cries  above  recorded.  One  day,  it  is  said, 
the  multitudes  were  rending  the  skies  with  their  Hosan- 
nas  to  Jesus ;  a  few  days  after,  they  were  clamoring  for 
his  blood.  Popular  favor  is  indeed  most  fickle,  and  it 
is  not  certain  that  those  who  so  eagerly  applauded  the 
Saviour  when  his  cause  was  in  the  ascendant,  acted  the 
part  of  faithful  friends  when  suddenly  he  was  found  in 
the  hands  of  his  enemies,  and  his  cause  seemed  about  to 
be  overthrown. 

Yet  that  those  who  on  the  former  occasion  acted  the 
part  of  professed  friends,  speedily  turned  against  Jesus, 
and,  a  few  days  after,  with  one  consent,  being  "  instant 
with  loud  voices,"  denied  him  before  Pilate,  demanded 
the  release  of  Barabbas,  and  "required  that  he  might  be 
crucified,"  there  is  no  good  reason  for  believing.  Indeed 
the  evidences  to  the  contrary  are  many  and  convincing. 
The  careful  study  of  the  records  here,  Jtnd  of  other 
Scriptures  bearing  upon  these,  will  show  that  tlie  crowd 
which  clamored  for  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  was  sub-^tan- 


170 


180  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

tially  a  different  company  from  that  whicli  gave  him 
triumphal  entrance  into  Jerusalem. 

Let  us  remember,  first  of  all,  that  when  Jesus  made 
his  entry  into  Jerusalem,  the  passover  was  at  hand,  and 
that  vast  multitudes  were  gathering  to  the  city  for  the 
festival.  Let  us  further  remember  that  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  had  been  performed  mainly  away  from  Jerusalem 
and  its  vicinity,  and  principally  in  and  around  Galilee. 
Let  us  still  further  remember  that  Jesus  was  popular  in 
the  regions  where  he  had  chiefly  labored,  having  been 
followed  by  immense  crowds,  who  were  astonished  at 
his  doctrine,  and  who  witnessed  or  even  participated  in 
his  many  and  beneficent  miracles.  The  chief  drawback 
to  his  popularity  in  these  regions  arose  from  the  inter- 
ference of  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  many  of  whom  were 
sent  down  from  Jerusalem  for  the  very  purpose  of  re- 
sisting him.  And  let  us  also  remember  that,  as  the  last 
circumstance  mentioned  intimates,  Jerusalem  was  the 
headquarters  of  that  Pharisaism  which  opposed  the  Sav- 
iour with  bitter  determination,  and  that  the  common 
people  of  Jerusalem,  as  greatly  under  the  influence  of  the 
ecclesiastical  leaders  of  the  nation  residing  among  them, 
were  likewise  as  a  body  unfriendly  to  Jesus.  ^  Thus  in 
Jerusalem,  during  the  great  festivals,  would  be  found 
two  large  sections  of  people,  having  essentially  opposite 
relations  to  Jesus  ;  first,  the  j)ermanent  inhabitants  of  the 
city — his  enemies ;   secondly,  those  who  had  come  up  to 


*  It  was  not  easy  for  the  authorities  at  Jerusalem,  always  to  keep  the 
people  of  the  city  united  in  opposition  to  Jesus.  An  instructive  instance 
of  the  favorable  impression  made  upon  the  Jerusalem  people  by  our  Sav- 
iour, and  of  the  consequent  alarm  and  indignation  of  the  Rulers,  may  be 
found  in  John  vii.  25-52. 


I 


"hosanna;"  "crucify  him."  "   ISl 

Jerusalem  from  Galilee  and  the  countries  adjacent — his 
friends. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  history,  and  learn  first,  who 
they  were  that  cried  their  Ilosannas  to  the  Saviour.  It 
appears  that  the  multitude  attending  on  him  when  he 
entered  the  city,  Avas  composed  in  part  of  those  who  had 
journeyed  with  him  just  previously,  and  in  part  of  those 
who  before  had  reached  the  city.  ^lost  of  those  who 
journeyed  with  the  Saviour  belonged  evidently  to  those 
districts  of  country  in  which  he  had  chiefly  labored. 
They  had  come  from  Galilee  through  Perea,  joining 
themselves  to  him  in  great  numbers,  as  his  admiring 
followers.*  Some  of  them,  indeed,  nmrmured  at  his  con- 
sorting with  Zaccheus.f  Many  of  them,  no  doubt,  were 
mistaken  friends.  Yet  the  company,  as  such,  believed 
in  him  as  a  great  prophet,  or  as  the  INIessiah,  and  now 
that  "he  was  nigh  to  Jerusalem,"  thought  that  "the 
kingdom  of  God  should  immediately  appear."^  Those, 
too,  who  went  out  from  the  city  to  meet  him,  were  strangers 
in  Jerusalem.  The  Evangelist  John  thus  writes,  "  On 
the  next  day  much  people  that  were  come  to  the  feast,  when 
they  heard  that  Jesus  was  coming  to  Jerusalem,  took 
branches  of  palm-trees,  and  went  forth  to  meet  him,  and 
cried  Hosanna." 

Thus  the  multitude  which  so  enthusiastically  escorted 
the  Saviour  into  Jerusalem,  one  part  going  before  him 
and  the  other  part  following  him,§  was  made  up,  in  both 
its  parts,  of  those  visiting  the  city.  And  these  were  to 
such  an  extent  his  acquaintances  and  friends,  as  to  make 
it  improbable  that  their  rejoicing  at  his  entrance  into  the 

«  Matt.  XX.  29-34,  and  parallels.  f  Luke  xix.  7. 

X  Luke  xix.  11.  g  Mark  xi.  9. 

16 


182    '  HOURS   AMONG    THE    GOSPELS. 

city  was  a  sudden  effervescence  of  feeling,  produced  by 
an  unreasoning  impulse  wliicli  had  quickly  become  con- 
tagious, and  which  once  over  left  them  to  be  swayed  by 
any  new  and  chance  impulse,  however  diverse  from  the 
former. 

We  may  next  appeal  to  the  history  to  learn  who  they 
were  that  madly  vociferated  the  cry,  "Away  with  him. 
Crucify  him."  An  examination  of  this  point  will  satis- 
factorily show  that  they  were  not  the  strangers  at  the 
feast,  but  were  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  as  distinguished 
from  these.  They  Avere  those  whom  the  hostile  Pharisees 
habitually  controlled. 

Commencing  with  the  scene  before  Pilate,  where  this 
murderous  cry  was  raised,  and  going  back  in  the  narrative 
to  learn  how  the  body  of  people  there  mentioned  was 
formed,  we  ascertain  that  its  nucleus  was  the  company 
which  the  night  before  had  gone  forth  with  Judas  to  ap- 
prehend the  Saviour.  These  are  called  in  the  history 
"a  great  multitude."  They  went  in  company  with  a 
military  force,  a  "band  of  men  and  officers,"  being  them- 
selves irregularly  armed  with  "swords  and  staves." 
And  it  is  distinctly  stated,  that  they  "came  from  the 
chief-priests,  and  the  scribes,  and  the  elders."  They 
were  the  minions  of  the  hostile  chiefs  of  the  nation.* 

The  arrest  of  our  Saviour  must  have  occurred  near 
midnight.  He  was  first  taken  before  the  High  Priest. 
"As  soon  as  it  was  day,"  the  Sanhedrim  met,  and  Jesus 
being  brought  into  its  presence,  judgment  was  soon 
given  against  him.  Little  time  was  lost  in  taking  him 
before  Pilate,  for  still  "it  was  early."  Evidently  "the 
whole   multitude   of  them,"t   headed  by  the  Council, 

-  Mark  xiv.  43.     John  xviii.  2,  3.  f  ^^^^^  xxiii.  1. 


"nOSANNA;"    "CRUCIFY    IIIM."  188 

could  not  have  been  very  diiFereiit  in  its  composition 
from  the  multitude  which  went  out  lor  the  arrest  of 
Jesus.  The  numerous  friends  of  Jesus,  strangers  in  Je- 
rusalem, lodging  wherever  they  could,  many  of  them 
doubtless  spending  the  night  outside  the  city,  probably 
had  not  yet,  in  any  considerable  number,  even  heard  of 
what  was  going  on. 

Some  time,  perhaps  an  hour  or  two,  -was  spent  in  the 
first  examination  by  Pilate,  and  in  taking  the  Saviour  to 
Herod  and  returning  again.  The  croAvd  may  have  re- 
ceived an  accession  during  this  time,  but  it  remained 
essentially  the  same,  since  Pilate  recognizes  it  as  un- 
changed. "And  Pilate,  when  he  had  called  together 
the  chief-priests,  and  the  rulers,  and  the  people,  said  unto 
them,  Ye  have  brought  this  man  unto  me,  as  one  that 
pcrverteth  the  people:  and  behold  I,  having  examined 
him  before  you,  have  found  no  fault  in  this  man,  touch- 
ing those  things  whereof  ye  accuse  hini;  no,  nor  yet 
Herod ;  for  I  sent  you  unto  him ;  and  lo,  nothing  worthy 
of  death  is  done  unto  him :  I  will  therefore  chastise  him 
and  release  him.""^ 

And  now  it  is  that  Pilate  gives  the  people  the  choice 
between  Jesus  and  Barabbas.  And  they,  persuaded  by 
the  priests,  demand  Barabbas,  and,  in  a  general  and  per- 
sistent outcry,  in  which  the  priests  largely  share,  pro- 
nounce their  verdict  upon  Jesus  in  the  words,  "Crucify 
him.  Crucify  him." 

Assuredly  the  history  thus  makes  it  very  plain  that 
those  who  clamored  for  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  were  not 
afraid  to  utter  the  dreadful  imprecation,  "His  blood  be 
on  us  and  our  children,"  were  not  the  multitude  of 

«■  Luke  xxiii.  Kl-lfi. 


184  HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

Gralileans  and  others  who  had  come  to  the  feast,  and  who 
a  few  days  before  had  given  him  joyful  entraDce  into  the 
city,  but  rather,  were  the  rabble  of  Jerusalem,  long  since 
inflamed  by  their  leaders  with  hatred  to  Jesus,  and 
ready,  in  desperate  hardness  of  heart,  under  the  example 
and  influence  of  those  leaders,  to  run  all  lengths  of 
wickedness. 

Were  there  any  further  evidence  needed  for  corrobo- 
rating our  conclusion,  we  might  find  it  in  the  addresses 
of  Peter,  made  in  Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
and  soon  after.  "Peter,  standing  up  with  the  eleven, 
lifted  up  his  voice  and  said.  Ye  men  of  Judea,  and  all  ye 
tJiat  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  .  .  .  Him  being  delivered 
by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God, 
ye  have  taken  and  by  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and 
slain."  "  Whom  ye  delivered  up,  and  denied  him  m  the 
presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  was  determined  to  let  him 
go  .  .  .  and  desired  a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto 
you."  "And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through  igno- 
rance ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers."* 

Perhaps  it  may  have  seemed  unnecessary  to  undertake 
in  so  serious  a  way  the  correction  of  a  popular  misappre- 
hension; yet  if  the  undertaking  has  led  us  to  a  more  just 
view  of  the  statements  of  the  Sacred  Records,  it  may  be 
esteemed  as  well  worthy  our  pains. 

*  Acts  ii  and  iii.     See  also  Acts  xiii.  27. 


XXXI. 

flitdas  Jlepentitig  at  the  sight  of  Jesus  Condemned. 
Matt,  xxvii.  3-5. 

Were  the  gospel  history  a  fiction,  as  some  have  been 
reckless  enough  to  assert,  it  would  need  to  be  regarded 
as  a  miracle  of  art.  Such  a  character  as  that  of  Judiis, 
introduced  as  he  is,  acting  the  part  lie  does,  and  depart- 
ing from  the  scene  in  the  manner  described,  exceeds,  as 
we  think,  in  its  terrible  truth,  its  truth  to  nature  de- 
praved and  acted  on  by  higher  powers  of  wickedness, 
anything  knowTi  in  the  creations  of  art. 

Such  a  character,  too,  is  wholly  unique  in  the  history. 
In  the  whole  Bible  are  found  very  few  instances  of  sui- 
cide, and  the  gospel  records  are  a  total  stranger  to  this 
crime,  except  in  the  single  case  of  Judas.  Yet  the  de- 
lineation is  perfect. 

The  fact  that  Judas  repented  of  his  treachery,  the  oc- 
casion of  his  so  doing,  and  the  remorse  with  which  he 
was  filled,  driving  him  to  despair  and  self-destruction, 
aiford  a  study  of  fearfiil  interest. 

Judas  had  been  successful  in  his  effort  to  deliver  u]i 
his  Master.  At  midnight  he  had  led  an  armed  band  to 
the  side  of  Olivet,  where  he  knew  tliat  Jesus  might  be 
found,  and  coming  upon  the  company  of  his  old  associ- 
ates, had  advanced  to  his  Master,  and  according  to  pre- 
concert betrayed  him  witli  a  kiss. 

16  «  185 


186  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

The  deed  was  consummated,  and  for  a  little  Judas  is 
lost  sight  of.  Jesus  is  carried  before  Annas  and  before 
Caiaphas,  and  after  some  hours  is  brought  to  trial  by  the 
Council.  We  read  of  the  other  disciples,  how  they  for- 
sook Jesus  and  fled,  how  John  and  Peter  rallied  and 
followed  their  Master  into  the  High-Priest's  house,  how 
there  Peter's  small  courage  again  wholly  forsook  him  and 
thrice  he  shamefully  denied  his  Lord ;  but  during  this 
time  we  read  nothing  of  Judas.  Where  he  was,  or  what 
he  was  doing,  we  can  only  imagine.  Yet  we  know  that 
in  the  hours  which  elapsed  from  near  midnight  till  the 
early  morning,  a  great  change  came  over  him. 

It  was  "yet  early,"  when  Jesus  w^as  led  from  the 
Council  to  Pilate's  hall  of  judgment,  and  this  seems  to 
have  been  the  time  when  Judas,  as  the  record  states, 
^'repented  himself"  of  what  he  had  done.  It  was  ^'lohen 
he  saw  that  Jesus  teas  condemned.^^  This  language,  too, 
makes  it  easy  for  us  to  imagine  that  Judas  was  a  witness 
of  his  Master's  trial  before  the  Council.  He  heard  the 
dreadful  words  of  the  unanimous  verdict,  "  He  is  guilty 
of  death,"  and  mtnessed  the  mockeries  and  insults  heaped 
upon  the  condemned  but  unoffending  One.  He  beheld 
the  Master  in  the  power  of  his  enemies.  He  saw  unmis- 
takably the  consequences  of  his  treachery.  And  that 
sight,  flashing  through  all  the  specious  reasonings  with 
which  he  had  deluded  himself,  brought  home  to  him,  all 
hardened  before,  the  full  sense  of  his  damning  guilt.  He 
saw  Jesus  condemned  to  death,  and  in  an  instant  the 
horrid  crime  of  his  Lord's  foul  murder  was  charged  upon 
his  astonished  soul. 

And  as  Peter  had  gone  out  to  w^eep  bitterly  for  his 
denials  of  Jesus,  so  we  may  think  Judas  went  out  from 


DOOM    OF   JUDAS.  187 

the  CouiK'il  and  the  presence  of  his  Master,  not  indeed 
under  the  niovinos  of  eontrition,  bnt  under  tlie  l)itin;i;s 
of  remorse  and  the  tauntings  of  the  Devil  who  was  not 
done  with  his  victim.  And  can  avc  not  imagine  lilni, 
pallid  and  frightened,  roaming  wildly  the  streets  of  Je- 
rusalem, saying  to  himself,  "  What  have  I  done?  AMiat 
have  I  done?"  And  as  he  goes,  surely  the  money  in 
his  purse  finds  a  tongue,  and  instead  of  soothing  him 
with  the  sound  of  its  silvery  sweetness,  cries  with  accents 
piercing  his  heart  like  barbed  and  poisoned  arrows,  ''  It 
is  the  price  of  blood — the  price  of  blood." 

Imagination  aside,  we  know  what  was  his  frantic 
thought,  under  the  lacerations  of  conscience.  He  will 
revoke  his  bargain  with  the  priests,  and  undo  his  act  of 
treachery.  He  wnll  return  the  money  and  get  back  the 
Master.  And  we  see  him  hastening  to  the  temple,  where 
he  may  find  a  portion  of  his  employers,  and  coming  into 
their  presence,  and  holding  forth  the  money,  and  ex- 
claiming piteously  and  imploringly,  "  I  have  sinned  in 
that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood." 

Ah !  what  stinging  power  did  this  reflection  give  to 
the  guilt  of  Judas — "  the  innocent  blood !"  Could  he 
in  that  dreadful  hour  have  only  recalled  some  wrong 
done  him  by  the  Master,  upon  which  to  found  a  just 
resentment,  or  could  he  have  thought  of  any  conduct  of 
the  Master  tending  to  discredit  his  claim  to  be  the  !Mes- 
siah  and  the  Son  of  God ;  thus  giving  some  color  of  right 
to  his  own  act  in  delivering  him  to  the  priests,  or  to  the 
act  of  the  priests  in  condemning  him ;  it  would  not  have 
been  so  difficult  to  bear  the  smitings  of  conscience.  But 
to  have  perpetrated  this  deed  utterly  unprovoked,  and 
wholly  in  behalf  of  the  wrong  and  the  wicked,  it  was 


188  HOURS  AMONG  THE  GOSPELS. 

mor(i  than  he  could  bear.  And  unwittingly  he  is  made 
a  chief  witness  for  Jesus,  in  a  voluntary  and  unimpeach- 
able testimony  to  his  spotless  innocence. 

"  He  did  not  deserve  this  at  my  hands,  or  anything 
like  it,"  is  the  confession  of  Judas.  "  He  was  innocent, 
and  I  ought  to  have  defended  him.  He  was  innocent, 
and  I  betrayed  him.  Here,  take  the  money,  and  spare 
me  the  guilt  of  his  death.  ^I  have  sinned' — ^I  have 
sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood.' " 

But  Judas  miscalculated,  if  he  expected  sympathy 
from  the  priests.  They  had  no  concern,  but  for  the  ben- 
efit which  inured  to  them  from  his  crime.  Disdainful 
of  him  in  his  pitiful  grief,  and  unmoved  at  his  testimony 
to  the  innocence  of  Jesus ;  satisfied  that  they  had  ob- 
tained secure  possession  of  the  object  of  their  hate,  and 
might  now  dispose  of  him  as  they  would — let  him  be 
innocent  or  not — these  callous  wretches  in  cold  contempt 
thrust  Judas  from  their  presence,  with  the  words  inspired 
from  the  pit,  "  What  is  that  to  us  ?- — See  thou  to  that." 

Thus  they  parleyed  at  the  door  of  the  temple.  And 
in  his  distraction,  Judas  seems  to  have  pressed  uj^on  the 
priests,  until  they  retreated  within  the  Sanctuary,  if  he 
did  not  enter  it  himself.*     When  at  last  they  drove  him 

*■  There  are  two  words  in  the  Greek  Testament,  as  scholars  well  know, 
which  are  rendered  temple  in  our  version.  The  one  of  these  uniformly  sig- 
nifies, not  only  the  building  proper,  made  up  of  the  Holy  Place  and  the 
Most  Holy,  into  which  only  the  priests  were  permitted  to  enter,  but  the 
building  together  with  its  various  courts  of  popular  assembly.  It  is  this 
word  which  is  used,  whenever  our  Saviour  is  spoken  of  as  teaching  in  the 
temple,  or  driving  the  money-changers  out  of  the  temple.  The  other  word 
uniformly  signifies  the  sanctuary  proper,  the  building  into  which  none 
might  enter  save  the  priests. 

Now  it  is  the  latter  word,  which  is  used  in  the  Greek,  where  it  is  said 
that  Judas  "cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  in  the  temj)le."     And,  as  Arch- 


DOOM    OF   JUDAS.  189 

off,  with  words  of  cutting  and  fiendish  scorn,  he  turned 
upon  them  only  to  tling  after  them  into  the  Holy  Phice 
the  money  which  tliey  had  refused.  "  And  he  cast  down 
the  pieces  of  silver  in  the  temple  and  departed." 

The  next  thing  in  the  record  is,  "and  went  and  hanged 
himself."  And  was  not  everything  in  the  probable  cir- 
cumstances just  such  as  to  sharpen  his  remorse  and  bring 
him  to  this  end? 

We  may  think  of  him  as  he  leaves  the  temple,  return- 
ing to  the  streets  and  roaming  them  more  wildly  than 
ever.  The  money  is  out  of  his  hands,  but  the  blood  i^ 
still  there.  And  perhaps,  as  he  goes  his  impetuous  and 
unguided  way,  he  sometimes  comes  upon  the  crowd  in 
front  of  Pilate's  palace,  and  hears  the  cry,  "Away  with 
him — Crucify  him;"  or  it  may  be  he  crosses  the  proces- 
sion which  conducts  Jesus  from  Pilate  to  Herod,  or  from 
Herod  back  again  to  Pilate,  and  catches  a  sight  of  the 
lowly  and  innocent  one,  beset  by  the  rabble  and  arrayed 
in  the  garments  of  mockery. 

And  thus  his  thoughts  are  soon  maddening  him  to 
despair.  The  very  elements  and  influences  doubtless 
seem  to  conspire  against  him.  The  morning  sun  shines 
but  to  wither  and  blight  him  with  its  yellow  light.  The 
air  grows  thick  and  oppressive  as  with  a  curse.  Sepa- 
rated by  his  own  choice  from  his  disciple-companions, 
who  would  now  shudder  at  the  sight  of  him ;  cast  off  and 
scorned  by  those  who  once  communed  and  covenanted 
with  him  for  their  own  wicked  ends;  having  sinned  too 

bishop  TuKNCH  observes,  in  bis  "Synonyms  of  the  New  Testament,"  this 
sets  forth  most  vividly  the  despair  and  defiance  of  Judas,  that  he  presses 
into  the  very  Sanctuary  and  there  casts  down  before  the  priests  the  ac- 
cursed price  of  blood. 


190  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

deeply  against  God  and  his  Son  to  be  willing  to  ask  for 
pardon;  and  the  time  now  hastening  apace  when  that 
innocent  blood  which  he  has  betrayed  shall  be  foully 
shed ;  he  yields  himself  to  the  impelling  devil  who  has 
possessed  him  and  resolves  upon  self-destruction. 

He  will  close  his  eyes  to  the  sickening  sunlight,  and 
escape  the  intolerable  oppression  of  life,  and  go  forever 
from  that  world  which  has  excluded  him  from  its  pity 
and  hope,  and  branded  him  as  the  object  of  all  loathing 
and  hate. — And  over  the  steep,  rocky  hill-side,  beneath 
Jerusalem's  wall,  he  swings  himself,  thence  again  to 
fall  headlong,  perishing  miserably. 


XXXII. 

JToseph  of  Aritnathea,  and  his  Mission. 

Matt,  xxvii.  57-60,  and  parallels. 

Jesus,  on  the  way  to  death,  suffered  every  conceivable 
indignity.  Yet  having  expired  on  tlie  cross,  his  body 
was  not  only  preserved  from  destruction,  or  from  any 
serious  marring  of  its  organism,  but  was  made  the  ob- 
ject of  honorable  and  tender  ministrations.  The  provi- 
dence of  God  herein  was  most  notable. 

Had  the  Romans  been  permitted  their  way  with  the 
body  of  Jesus,  it  would  have  remained  on  the  cross 
until  it  went  to  decay,  or  was  devoured  by  ravenous 
birds.  Had  the  Jews  been  permitted  tlielr  way,  it  would 
have  received  the  infamous  interment  commonly  given 
to  detestable  criminals.  God's  special  providence  inter- 
fered to  prevent  both  these  results,  and  to  secure  a  very 
different  and  an  exactly  befitting  disposition  of  the  body. 
And  what  was  this  special  providence? 

We  might  have  supposed  that  the  Apostles,  or  other 
Galilean  friends  of  Jesus,  would  have  been  anxious  to 
secure  his  body  for  burial.  Some  of  them  we  know 
witnessed  his  crucifixion.  Yet  these  miglit  well  have  de- 
spaired of  being  permitted  to  execute  any  desire  of  their 
own.  The  body  belonged  to  Pilate;  and  what  prospect 
was  there  that  the  Governor  would  yield  to  the  wishes 
of  such  persons  as  they — obscure  ones  and  strangers — 

i'.»i 


192  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

especially  when  the  Jews  might  be  expected  to  resist 
them? 

But  precisely  at  the  juncture  demanding  interference, 
there  appears  on  the  scene  a  person  never  before  heard 
of  in  the  history,  who  effectually  performs  the  needed 
work,  and  who  again  immediately  and  wholly  disap- 
pears. Seemingly  he  was  raised  up  and  commissioned 
for  this  special  service.  He  is  a  man  of  position  and 
influence,  is  desirous  of  giving  the  body  of  Jesus  honor- 
able burial,  and  promptly  undertakes  the  office.  All 
four  of  the  Evangelists  were  moved  to  record  the  doings 
of  this  person,  and  it  may  be  of  use  for  us  to  review  and 
compare  their  narratives,  and  thence  endeavor  to  ascer- 
tain the  causes  Avhich  operated  with  such  force  as  to  set 
him  upon  his  extraordinary  performance. 

All  the  writers  designate  him  as  "  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thea."  Probably  his  birth-place  was  in  the  mountains 
of  Ephraim,  although  he  had  now  become  a  resident  of 
Jerusalem.  From  Matthew  we  learn  that  he  was  "rich." 
It  is  ]\Iatthew,  also,  who  by  and  by  informs  us,  that  the 
tomb  in  which  Joseph  buried  our  Lord,  was  "  his  own 
ncAV  tomb,"  thus  indicating,  though  without  declaring 
it,  the  fulfillment  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  "  He  made  his 
grave  with  the  rich  in  his  death."  Luke  characterizes 
him  as  "  a  good  man  and  a  just,"  belonging  thus  to  the 
better  class  of  Jews,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Simeon  and 
Anna,  indulging  some  correct  expectations  of  the  Mes- 
siah; "who  also  himself  waited  for  the  kingdom  of 
God."  (Mark  and  Luke.)  He  was  also  "a  counsellor," 
(Luke,)  "  an  honorable  counsellor,"  (Mark,)  from  which 
we  should  naturally  infer  that  he  was  a  member  of  the 
supreme  judicial  tribunal  of  the  nation.     This  inference 


JOSEPH    OF    ARIMATHEA.  ]!i:5 

is  made  certain  by  tlio  declaration  of  Tiuke,  that  "  the 
same  had  not  consented  to  the  counsel  and  deed  of  them." 
He,  and  probably  Nicodemus,  and  possibly  some  others, 
were  absent  from  that  packed  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrim 
which  gave  a  unanimous  verdict  against  Jesus.*  Still 
further,  he  was  "  Jesus'  disciple/'  (Matthew,)  *'  but  se- 
cretly, for  fear  of  the  Jews,"  (John,) — he  yielding 
unworthily  to  the  special  temptation  of  his  high  position. 

Thus  full  is  the  account  of  this  man,  gathered  from 
all  the  writers.  He  seems  to  have  been  much  such  a 
person  and  disciple  as  Nicodemus,  his  brother  Senator, 
and  naturally,  though  significantly  enough,  these  two 
are  presently  found  in  co-operation,  probably  having 
previously  conferred  respecting  their  proposed  work. 

Joseph  is  already  on  his  way  to  the  Roman  Governor, 
prosecuting  his  mission,  when  introduced  into  the  nar- 
rative. The  time,  according  to  Matthew  and  !Mark,  was 
the  evening — "  when  the  even  was  come."  This  desig- 
nation of  time  was  very  indefinite  then,  as  it  is  now. 
The  evening  sacrifice  occurred  at  the  ninth  hour,  or  at 
three  o'clock,  P.  M.  Luke  has  it,  that  "  the  Sabbath 
drew  on."  It  was,  by  our  reckoning,  somewhere  between 
three  and  six  o'clock,  P.  M.  Both  Mark  and  Luke  men- 
tion, as  John  has  also  done,  that  it  was  "  the  prepara- 
tion ;"  and  Mark  explains  this  to  mean,  "  the  day  before 
the  Sabbath."  The  point  needing  to  be  observed  is  this, 
that  the  time  remaining  for  the  burial  was  short.  The 
arrival  of  the  Sabbath  must  be  anticipated,  and  for  this, 
prompt  and  even  hurried  measures  were  required. 

The  Pharisees,  like  Joseph  and  Nicodemus,  Avere  anx- 
ious that  the  burial  should  take  place  before  the  Sabbath 

*  Mark  xiv.  64. 

ir  I 


194  HOURS   AMOXG    THE    GOSPELS. 

commenced,  (John,)  and  probably  the  visits  of  the  t^yo 
parties  to  Pilate  occnrred  near  the  same  time.  Joseph, 
having  obtained  his  reqnest,  returned  to  the  cross,  mak- 
ing purchase  of  fine  linen  and  carrying  it  with  him. 
Meanwhile,  and  as  if  by  previous  agreement  with  Jo- 
seph, Nicodemus  had  procured  the  desired  spices ;  and 
soon  the  body  is  lifted  from  the  cross,  wound  in  the  linen 
with  the  spices,  conveyed  to  the  new  sepulchre  in  the 
garden  hard  by,  and  there  secured. 

This  narrative  shows  Joseph  of  Arimathea  acting  a 
most  honorable  part.  But  more  than  this,  it  shows  him 
acting  a  most  courageous  part.  And  that,  when  we  are 
informed  that  previously  he  had  been  only  a  secret  disci- 
ple, through  fear.  The  Evangelist  Mark  uses  this  sig- 
nificant language  concerning  Joseph — that  he  "  went  in 
boldly  unto  Pilate  and  craved  the  body  of  Jesus."  And 
assuredly  his  act  must  have  required  courage.  Jesus 
himself  to  all  appearances  overcome  by  his  enemies  and 
his  cause  hopelessly  lost,  it  was  an  act  of  highest  heroism 
thus  almost  alone  to  stand  forth  for  the  honor  of  Jesus 
and  for  the  upholding  of  his  cause. 

Well  may  we  ask.  How  came  it  to  pass  that  he  who 
was  only  a  secret  disciple  through  fear,  when  Jesus  was 
popular  and  his  cause  was  seemingly  marching  to  tri- 
umph, was  now  so  courageous?  The  answer  to  this 
question,  that  "  the  heroism  of  faith  is  usually  kindled 
by  desperate  circumstances,'"^  does  not,  even  if  correct  in 
itself,  in  the  least  explain  the  fact.  At  best  it  only  places 
it  in  a  class  of  similar  facts,  all  of  which  may  require 
explanation.     The  Apostles  of  our  Lord  exhibited  little 

*  Prof.  Brown. 


JOSEPH    OF   ARIMATIIKA.  liU) 

"heroism  of  faith"  amidst  tliose  "desperate  circum- 
stances." 

A  comparison  of  the  records  puts  us,  as  wc  think, 
upon  a  rational  explanation  of  Joseph's  extraordinary 
conduct.  And  it  is  mainly  for  the  sake  of  this  explana- 
tion that  such  comparison  has  here  been  made. 

It  is  strongly  intimated,  by  all  the  circumstances  of 
the  case  as  the  records  present  them,  that  the  rea.son  for 
Joseph's  conduct  was  just  this,  that  he  now  found  him- 
self, in  the  peculiar  providences  of  God,  to  be  the  only 
person  having  any  concern  for  the  honor  of  Christ,  who 
was  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  procure  ibr  him  an  hon- 
orable burial. 

The  Sabbath  drew  on ;  the  enemies  of  Jesus  were  hur- 
rying to  bury  him  with  the  malefactors ;  most  of  the  dis- 
ciples were  scattered  abroad,  like  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd; those  who  remained  were  destitute  of  influence 
with  Pilate  for  procuring  the  body  of  Jesus,  and,  even 
if  they  should  overcome  all  obstacles  and  procure  the 
body,  might  not  be  able  to  find  a  suitable  tomb.  Jo- 
seph, we  may  presume,  was  acquainted  with  these  facts. 
And  he  knew  further  that  he  had  influence  with  Pilate — 
that  he  might  be  able  to  secure  the  body ;  and,  still  fur- 
ther, there  was  his  own  new  tomb,  hard  by  the  cross,  with- 
out an  occupant,  standing  ready  to  receive  the  body  of 
Jesus. 

Did  not  all  the  indications  of  .that  solemn  and  eventful 
hour  point  to  Joseph,  as  the  man  upon  whom  wt^  devolved 
the  work  of  rescuing  the  body  from  the  infamy  fast  pre- 
paring for  it,  and  giving  it  honorable  sepulture?  Must 
he  not  have  felt  that  the  crisis  had  arrived,  when  he 
must  banish  his  fears  and  boldly  avow  his  attachment 


196  ^       HOURS   AMOXG   THE    GOSPELS. 

to  Jesus,  or  utterly  and  forever  renounce  all  pretence  of 
friendshij)  ?  It  was,  as  ^Ye  cannot  but  think,  under  the 
pressure  of  these  circumstances,  so  admirably  adapted  to 
test  the  reality  of  his  discipleship,  and  "kindle  his 
faith"  for  heroic  achievement,  that  he  went  in  boldly 
unto  Pilate,  and  consummated  the  burial  of  his  Master. 
Supposing  this  explanation  to  be  correct,  the  conduct 
of  Nicodemus  is  just  what  we  might  have  expected. 
Of  like  character  with  Joseph,  and  feeling  to  some  ex- 
tent the  force  of  the  same  providential  circumstances,  he 
co-operates  with  Joseph.  Yet  it  is  not  Nicodemus  w^ho 
owns  the  convenient  tomb,  and  the  circumstances  do  not 
so  fully  devolve  on  him  the  responsibilities  of  the  occa- 
sion. Hence,  it  is  exactly  natural  that  while  his  courage 
is  developed  to  a  new  degree  and  he  is  led  to  act  a 
worthy  part,  he  should  still  be  seen  only  as  the  helper  of 
Joseph,  who  remains  the  hero  of  the  occasion. 


XXXIII. 

J'c9tt3f  after  fits  Jtesurrection,  apitearing  first  to   Mary   Magdalene, 

Mark  xvi.  9;  John  xx.  11-18;  Matt,  xxviii.  8-10. 

In  no  part  of  the  Gospel  History  is  it  so  difficult  to 
reduce  the  accounts  of  the  Evangelists  to  harmony,  as 
in  the  narratives  of  the  events  immediately  following 
the  Resurrection. 

Some  persons — unbelievers — declare  tlie  accounts 
hopelessly  contradictory,  and  charge  the  Avriters  with 
fraud  and  falsehood.  Others,  who  have  implicit  faith 
in  the  records,  and  who  believe  that  seeming  incon- 
sistencies would  be  wholly  relieved,  had  we  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  actual  occurrences,  dou])t  wlicther  it  is 
possible  with  our  present  knowledge  to  relieve  them, 
and  therefore  discourage  all  attempts  in  this  direction. 
Others  still,  and  among  them  probably  the  majority  of 
wise  expositors,  not  professing  to  find  a  complete  narm- 
tive  in  any  blended  account  of  the  four  writers,  hold  that 
apparent  contradictions  may  be  removed  by  the  supposi- 
tion of  certain  circumstances  having  existed  and  certain 
events  having  occurred,  which,  although  not  recorded, 
are  within  the  limits  of  easy  probability.  This  method 
of  reconciling  seeming  discrepancies  is  everywhere  recog- 
nized as  legitimate,  under  similar  conditions,  and  we 
cannot  imagine  why  it  should  be  rejected  here. 

The  fact  of  considerable  divei^ity  in  the  statements 
17  *  197 


198  HOUES   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

may  be  rationally  accounted  for.  Each  writer  had  his 
own  point  of  observation  of  the  facts  occurring.  Each 
had  his  special  end  in  view,  in  selecting  and  recording 
those  which  he  has  given.  And  further,  it  may  reason- 
ably be  supposed,  that  any  apparent  confusion  in  the 
narrative  is  the  natural  result  of  a  confusion  which 
actually  existed  in  the  movements  of  the  disciples. 
When  we  reflect  for  a  moment  on  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
ciples were  strangers  in  Jerusalem,  and  probably  on  the 
night  preceding  the  Resurrection  lodged  some  in  one 
place  and  some  in  another — on  the  fact  that  the  first 
tidings  from  the  sepulchre  came  early  in  the  morning — 
and  on  the  fact  that  these  tidings  w^ere  of  a  most  astound- 
ing character;  is  it  not  evident  that  some  confusion  of 
movement  must  have  occurred?  There  would  be  a  hur- 
rying to  and  fro.  Some  would  be  going  to  the  sepulchre, 
while  others  were  returning  from  it.  The  sepulchre  be- 
ing visited  at  different  times,  by  different  parties,  the 
changes  taking  place  would  give  rise  to  different  reports 
concerning  what  was  there  seen.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, to  demand  that  each  of  the  writers,  telling  his 
own  story  from  his  own  point  of  view  and  for  his  own 
particular  purpose,  should  compose  a  narrative  easily 
falling  in  with  and  fitting  all  the  others,  is  simply  pre- 
posterous. Such  a  demand  would  be  reasonable,  as  some 
one  has  suggested,  only  on  the  supposition  that  the  whole 
company  of  disciples  marched  to  the  tomb,  by  a  pro- 
gramme previously  arranged. 

It  is  our  object,  in  this  chapter,  to  show  how  one  of 
the  most  troublesome  apparent  disagreements  in  the  re- 
cords may  be  reasonably  explained. 

In  the  gospel  by  John  we  have  the  account  of  an  in- 


FIRST   APPEARING    OF   THE    RISEN    SAVIOUR.       11  >9 

terview  of  the  risen  Jesus  with  Mary  Magdalene  at  the 
sepulchre.  Mary  is  evidently  alone. — In  Mark's  gospel, 
we  have  the  distinct  statement  that  Jesus  ai)pearcd  first 
to  Mary  Magdalene.  We  can  hardly  help  the  conclusion 
that  the  interview  which  John  records  is  that  to  which 
Mark  refers,  and  was  Christ's  first  appearance  to  mortal 
vision  after  his  Resurrection. — Yet,  from  ]Matthew's  ac- 
count, w^e  obtain  the  impression  that  Jesus  first  revealed 
himself  to  the  company  of  women,  who,  according  to 
the  first  three  waiters,  came  early  in  the  morning  to  the 
sepulchre,  Mary  Magdalene  being  then  Avith  them.  And 
he  revealed  himself  to  them,  not  at  the  sepulchre,  but 
after  they  had  fled  from  it,  going  in  obedience  to  the 
command  of  the  angels  to  bring  w^ord  to  the  disciples  of 
the  Resurrection.  Matthew  writes,  "And  as  they  went 
to  tell  his  disciples,  behold  Jesus  met  them,  saying.  All 
hail.  And  they  came  and  held  him  by  the  feet,  and 
worshipped  him."'^ 

Now  how  are  we  to  believe,  without  doing  violence  to 
the  narratives,  that  ^lary  Magdalene,  alone,  and  at  the 
sepulchre,  was  the  first  to  look  upon  the  risen  Saviour? 

There  seems  to  be  no  difliculty  in  the  supposition,  that 
when  the  company  of  w^omen,  including  Mary  Magda- 
lene, approached  the  sepulchre  early  in  the  morning,  and 
found  the  door  open,  Mary,  without  waiting  until  the 
angels  made  known  the  fact  of  the  Resurrection,  under 
the  belief  that  the  sepulchre  had  been  rifled  of  its  occu- 
pant, separated  herself  from  the  company  and  hastened 

••■•  Wc  follow  the  received  text,  although  some  of  the  critics  reject  the 
phrase,  "and  as  they  went  to  tell  his  disciples."  Ellicott  is  disposed 
to  find  relief  from  the  difliculty  mentioned  bj'  adopting  the  vi':w  of  these 
critics.     Life  of  Christ,  p.  351.     This  wc  think  unnecessary. 


200  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

to  bring  the  tidings  to  Peter  and  John.  The  Evangelist 
John  writes  concerning  Mary,  when  she  saw  that  the 
stone  was  taken  from  the  sepulchre,  "  Then  she  runneth 
and  Cometh  to  Simon  Peter,  and  to  the  other  disciple 
whom  Jesus  loved,  and  saith  unto  them,  They  have  taken 
away  the  Lord  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  we  know  not 
where  they  have  laid  him."  John  indeed  writes  as  if 
Mary  going  alone  to  the  sepulchre  had  made  this  dis- 
covery, when  he  says,  "  The  first  day  of  the  week  cometh 
Mary  Magdalene,  early,  when  it  was  dark,  unto  the  sep- 
ulchre, and  seeth  the  stone  taken  away ;"  yet  obviously 
he  thus  writes  because  it  was  Mary  alone  who  gave  the 
information  to  himself  and  Peter.  He  was  intent,  not 
on  the  visit  of  the  women  but  on  his  own  visit,  and  was 
showing  how  it  came  to  be  made.  Mary's  language,  as 
John  gives  it,  distinctly  intimates  that  she  had  been  at 
the  sepulchre  in  company  with  others.  She  says,  ''we 
know  not  w^here  they  have  laid  him." 

Thus,  then,  was  Mary  probably  separated  from  the 
company  of  the  women.  The  two  disciples  ran  to  the 
sepulchre,  yet  did  not  arrive  until  after  the  women  had 
left,  and  did  not  meet  them  on  the  way.  The  disciples 
made  their  observations  and  departed,  Mary  meanwhile 
having  followed  them,  and  having  reached  the  sepulchre 
perhaps  not  far  from  the  time  they  left  it.  And  now, 
remaining  there  alone,  opportunity  would  be  given  for 
the  interview  with  her  described  so  affectingly  by  the 
Evangelist  John. 

Yet  the  principal  question  remains  unanswered ;  the 
question.  How  can  this  interview  be  consistently  con- 
ceived of  as  occurring  before  that  with  the  company  of 
women  mentioned  by  Matthew,  so  as  to  be  regarded  the 


FIRST   APPEARING   OF   THE   RISEN    SAVIOUR.        201 

first,  according  to  the  declaration  of  Mark?  There  is  a 
way,  we  think,  in  wliicli  this  may  easily  be  done,  without 
violence  either  to  the  narratives  or  to  the  manifest  prob- 
abilities of  the  case. 

All  difficulty  is  here  created  by  the  gratuitous  suj)- 
position  that  our  Saviour  appeared  to  the  women  soon 
after  tlieir  fligld  from  the  sepulchre,  and  in  its  immediate 
mcinity.  We  say  gratuitous  supposition.  There  is  not 
the  slightest  evidence  in  its  favor.  So  far  as  the  record 
goes,  we  have  the  language,  that  "  as  they  went  to  tell 
his  disciples,  Jesus  met  them."  It  may  be  admitted  that 
the  first  impression  produced  by  this  language  is  favora- 
ble to  the  supposition  stated.  Yet  nothing  is  plainer 
than  the  fact  that  these  records  are  of  a  condensed  and 
summary  sort,  and  were  not  always  intended  to  give  at 
the  first  glance  accurate  impressions  of  the  details  of  time 
and  place.  For  example,  Matthew  says  nothing  of  any 
interview  of  our  Saviour,  after  his  Eesurrection,  with  any 
of  the  Apostles  in  Jenisalem,  and,  according  to  the  first 
impression  received  from  the  reading  of  ^Matthew's  ac- 
count by  itself,  Jesus  ascended  to  heaven  from  Galilee. 
And  the  narrative  in  Luke,  read  by  itself,  gives  the  im- 
pression that  our  Saviour  ascended  from  near  Jerusalem, 
on  the  evening  following  his  Resurrection.  We  know  from 
the  Acts  that  he  ascended  from  near  Jerusalem,  forty 
days  after  his  Resurrection.  We  may  not,  then,  here 
insist  on  frst  impressions.  We  must  avail  ourselves  of 
all  the  information  afforded,  and  thus  secure,  so  far  as 
may  be,  right  impressions. 

Matthew  writes,  as  we  have  seen,  that  "  as  they  went 
to  tell  his  disciples,  Jesus  met  them."  But  where  were 
the  disciples,  and  how  long  did  it  take  the  women  to  find 


202  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

them  ?  The  common  supposition  seems  to  be,  that  the 
company  of  the  Apostles  all  lodged  in  Jerusalem,  at  one 
and  the  same  place,  and  that  the  women  knew  just  where 
to  find  them.  The  probabilities,  however,  are  to  the  con- 
trary of  this.  Being  strangers  in  Jerusalem,  and  the 
city  now  overflowing  with  the  multitudes  who  had  come 
to  the  passover,  probably  the  Apostles  were  much  scat- 
tered ;  perhaps  most  of  them  were  lodging  with  their 
friends  at  Bethany,  or  elsewhere  amidst  their  familiar 
haunts  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.*  Peter  and  John,  we 
may  think,  lodged  in  the  city.  John  was  to  some  extent 
acquainted  there,  and  seems  to  have  had  there  a  place 
of  temporary  abode,  to  which  he  took  the  mother  of  our 
Lord.f  And  Peter  and  John  were  together,  wherever 
it  was  they  were  staying.^  The  last  we  read,  before  this, 
of  the  rest  of  the  eleven,  they  were  scattered  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  and  not  until  the  evening  of  the  first 
day  of  the  week  do  we  learn  of  any  gathering  of  the 
company  in  Jerusalem.  Even  then  Thomas  is  absent,§ 
and  the  rest  are  rejoicing  over  the  appearing  of  the  Lord 
to  Simon,  showing  that  he  had  been  separated  from  the 
others.  1 1 

It  seems  altogether  probable  that  the  women,  charged 
with  the  message  to  the  disciples,  were  some  length  of 

*  No  doutt  at  the  festivals  strangers  were  compelled  to  seek  lodgings 
through  the  surrounding  country,  out  to  a  considerable  distance.  Thus 
probably  Simon  the  Cyrenian  was  coming  in  from  his  night-abode  in  "  the 
country,"  to  the  morning  sacrifice,  when  he  was  taken  and  compelled  to 
bear  the  cross  of  Jesus ;  and  thus  Cleopas  and  his  companion  may  have 
had  their  place  of  temjDorary  residence  at  Emmaus,  and  may  have  been 
going  to  it  for  the  night,  when  joined  by  Christ. 

t  John  xviii.  16;  xix.  27.  %  Jo^^i  ^^'  2.  §  John  xx.  24. 

II  Luke  xxiv.  34. 


FIK.^T    APPEARING   OF   THE    RISEN    SAVIOUR. 


203 


time  ill  finding  tlicm.  Perhaps  they  first  eaiiie  into  tlic 
city,  the  sepnlchre  according  to  the  old  tradition  being  a 
short  distance  from  the  western  wall,  going  first  in  quest 
of  Peter  and  John  whom  they  knew  to  be  lodging  tliere. 
And  we  may  snppose,  that  not  finding  these  disciples, 
wlio  had  already  started  for  the  sepnlchre  on  the  intelli- 
gence given  by  ^Nlary,  they  passed  on  throngh  the  city 
eastward  and  ont  to  the  ]Mount  of  Olives,  in  search   of 

the  others. 

And  it  may  have  been  in  this  latter  part  of  their  long 
loalk,  "  as  they  went  to  tell  his  disciples,"  that,  in  some 
of  the  seclusions  of  Olivet,  the  Saviour,  having  already 
appeared  to  Mary  at  the  sepulchre,  and  transferring  him- 
self in  his  resurrection-body  at  will,  revealed  himself  to 

them. 

By  this  method  of  probable  conjecture,  we  avoid  the 
difficulty  suggested,  and  were  there  nothing  in  the  rec- 
ords going  directly  to  confirm  the  conjcc'tures  made,  we 
need  not  hesitate  to  accept  them,  so  long  as  nothing  in 
the  records  is  found  to  contradict  them.  But  it  so  hap- 
pens, that  a  passage  in  the  gospel  by  Luke,  in  a  most 
incidental  way  falls  in  with  these  conjectures,  and  with 
our  inferences  from  them,  in  a  manner  remarkably  to 
confirm  them.     Let  us  see. 

The  two  disciples  going  to  Emmaus,  who  plainly 
were  familiar  friends  of  the  Apostles,*— having  started 
from  Jerusalem  not  far,  we  may  suppose,  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  day,  give  to  the  unknown  person  who  has 
accosted  them,  the  following  statement  of  the  facts 
known  to  them  on  leaving  the  city.  They  say,  ^'  Yea, 
and  certain  women  also  of  our  company  made  us  aston- 

*  Luke  xxiv.  22,  23. 


204  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

islied,  which  were  early  at  the  sepulchre.  And  when 
they  found  not  his  body,  they  came,  saying,  that  they 
had  also  seen  a  vision  of  angels  which  said  that  he  was 
alive."  Evidently  this  was  the  same  company  of 
women,  of  whose  interview  with  the  angels  the  first 
three  Evangelists  tell  us.  Yet  when  they  met  these 
disciples  in  the  city,  they  spoke  only  of  the  vision  of 
angels  which  they  had  seen,  and  of  what  the  angels  had 
told  them,  saying  nothing  of  having  seen  the  Loy^d,  Must 
we  not  suppose  that  the  interview  with  him  had  not  yet  oc- 
curred ?  Not  at  their  first  flight  from  the  sepulchre,  as 
we  again  see,  did  the  Lord  reveal  himself  to  these  women. 
Sufficient  time  elapsed,  as  is  here  intimated,  for  him  to 
appear,  according  to  Mark's  statement,  '^ first  to  Mary 
Magdalene,  out  of  whom  he  had  cast  seven  devils." 


XXXIV. 

ClirisVs  saying  to  Mavtf  Maf/dalmr,  «  Touch  me  not:  for    I  am  not 
yet  Ascended  to  my  JTatJievJ' 

John  XX.  17;  xvi.  16;  xiv.  3. 

Mary  was  alone  at  the  sepulchre,  Peter  and  John 
having  recently  withdrawn.  Full  of  the  tliouglit  tliat 
the  body  of  her  Lord  had  been  stolen  away,  she  stands 
there  weeping.  Presently,  her  tears  still  falling,  she 
stoops  into  the  sepulchre,  and  beholds,  what  Peter  and 
John  had  not  seen,  two  angels  clothed  in  white. 

It  is  remarkable  that  at  this  sight  Mary  evinces  no 
surprise.  She  is  sufficiently  composed  to  observe  the 
exact  position  of  the  angels,  "sitting,  the  one  at  tlie 
head,  and  the  other  at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus 
had  lain."  And  when  they  address  her  with  the  sooth- 
ing remonstrance,  "  Woman,  why  weepest  thou  ?"  slie 
ansAvers  with  the  utmost  calmness,  and  from  the  fulness 
of  her  heart,  "  Because  they  have  taken  away  my  Lord, 
and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him." 

Behold  the  might  of  love !  She  did  not  fear ;  for  in 
her  heart  was  no  room  for  fear.  "  Perfect  love  casteth 
out  fear."  At  that  moment,  Mary  would  doubtless 
hiive  little  recked  it,  had  the  earth  opened  before  her  to 
swallow  her  up. 

Yet,  having  answered  the  question  of  the  angels,  she 
rises,  as  with  womanly  dignity,  to  retire.     As  she  rises, 

18  205 


206  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

she  partially  turns,  and  in  so  doing  catclies  a  glimpse 
of  some  one  standing  back  of  her.  Her  eyes  are  filled 
with  tears ;  perhaps  the  morning  has  not  far  advanced ; 
possibly  Jesus  is  different  in  appearance ;  above  all  she 
is  not  expecting  to  see  him  alive.  At  any  rate  she  fails 
to  recognize  him. 

He  addresses  to  her  the  same  question  of  remonstrance 
which  the  angels  had  asked,  and  still  his  voice  is  that 
of  a  stranger.  She  gives  him  a  courageous  reply,  such 
as  only  the  fulness  of  love  would  dictate.  Supposing 
him,  very  naturally,  to  be  the  gardener,  and  thinking 
that  probably  it  is  he  who  has  removed  the  body  of  her 
Lord,  she  cries,  "  Sir,  if  thou  have  borne  him  hence, 
tell  me  where  thou  hast  laid  him,  and  I  will  take  him 
away." 

But  it  is  Jesus.  And  now  he  discloses  himself  to  her, 
even  through  all  the  obstacles  which  before  had  pre- 
vented her  from  recognizing  him.  And  how  does  he 
make  himself  known  ?  He  does  it  instantly  and  com- 
pletely, by  the  utterance  of  a  single  word.  Yet  that 
word  is  her  name.     "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  IlaryJ^ 

No  word  comes  so  near  to  us  as  our  name;  none 
searches  so  closely  after  our  personality,  and  carries  so 
fully  with  it  our  very  selves.  And  this  one  word,  per- 
haps pronounced  by  the  Saviour  in  his  old  familiar  tone, 
was  a  quick  and  full  revelation.  ]N"ot  a  doubt  remained 
as  to  who  he  was,  and  the  full  sense  of  her  relations  to 
him  as  his  disciple  came  rushing  ujoon  her  soul  with 
overwhelming  power.  Turning  completely  round,  she 
exclaims,  "  Rabboni,"  "  My  Master,"  and  probably,  in 
the  transport  of  her  feelings,  is  ready  to  cling  to  him, 
never  more  to  be  separated.     Jesus,  however,  checks 


TOUCH    MK    NUT.  iJO  < 

her  moveuieiit,  flaying,  ^' ToiiL'li  mc  nut;  for  i  luii  not 
yet  ascended  to  my  Father." 

The  prohibition,  "  Touch  me  not,"  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  sayings  of  our  Lord  most  difficult  of  interpreta- 
tion. Tholuck,  after  mentioning  a  long  list  of  varying 
opinions  concerning  it,  expressed  by  leading  expositors, 
declares  himself  unable  to  adopt  any  one  of  them  with 
confidence,  and  declines  ofl'ering  any  independent  judg- 
ment. We  would  venture  to  ask,  whether  the  reason 
assigned  for  the  prohibition,  may  not  be  expected  to 
throw  some  light  on  the  prohibition  itself? — whether, 
indeed,  in  the  ambiguities  of  the  one,  the  other  may  not 
be  looked  to  for  a  decisive  settlement  of  the  meaning  ? 

Fixing  our  regards,  then,  upon  the  reason  assigned  ; — 
"  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father,"  let  us  revert 
to  our  Saviour's  sayings  upon  this  point,  and  see  if  we 
can  discern  in  them  any  reason  adapted  to  restrain  the 
probable  action  of  Mary. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  sayings  is  the 
following,  "A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  me;  and 
again  a  little  w^hile  and  ye  shall  see  me,  because  I  go  to 
tlie  Father,^^"^  The  disciples  were  at  a  loss  to  understand 
this  saying,  and  inquired  concerning  it  among  them- 
selves. And  Jesus  explained  it,  much  to  their  satisfac- 
tion, on  this  wise,  "  I  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and 
am  come  into  the  world ;  again  I  leave  the  world,  and 
go  to  the  Father."t     Before  this,  Jesus  had  declared, 

*■  John  xvi.  16.  The  critics  would  omit  from  this  verse  the  clause,  "be- 
cause I  go  to  the  Father."  The  omission,  however,  makes  no  difference  ; 
for  this  verse  looks  directly  back  to  the  10th  verse,  "because  I  go  to  the 
Father  and  ye  see  me  no  more." 

t  John  xvi.  28. 


208  HOUES   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

"  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you,  /  loill  come  again  and  receive  you 
unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  he  also.^^^ 

Now  supposing  Mary  to  have  been  familiar  with  such 
teachings  of  our  Lord — and  the  fact  that  he  spoke  to 
her  as  he  did  implies  this  familiarity — is  it  not  natural 
to  suppose  that  when  she  first  recognized  the  risen  Sav- 
iour, her  thought  was  that  Jesus  in  death  had  left  the 
world  and  gone  to  the  Father,  and  that  having  returned 
to  life,  he  had  now  come  from  the  Father  ?  How  ex- 
actly would  this  suit  his  very  words,  "  a  little  while  and 
ye  shall  not  see  me,  and  again  a  little  ivhile  and  ye  shall 
See  me,  because  I  go  to  the  Father  f^  And,  of  course,  so 
thinking,  Mary  would  further  think,  "  he  has  noY\^  come 
to  take  his  disciples  to  himself,  that  they  may  abide  with 
him  for  ever,  even  according  to  his  promise,  ^I  will 
come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I 
am,  there  ye  may  be  also.'  " 

And  was  it  not  in  view  of  such  misapprehensions  as 
these  that  Jesus  said,  "  Touch  me  not  ?"  As  if  he  had 
said,  "  You  are  mistaken  in  supposing  that  I  have  now 
come  from  the  Father,  and  I  must  wholly  ^isapj)oint 
you.  '  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father,'  and  hence 
cannot  now  take  you  to  myself.  Earthly  fellowship  can 
no  longer  be  permitted,  and  the  time  has  not  come  for 
the  heavenly.  Therefore  cling  not  to  me ;  but  instead, 
go  from  me  and  resume  the  life  of  service ;  ^  go  to  my 
brethren,  and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father, 
and  your  Father,  and  to  my  God,  and  your  God.' " 

*  John  xiv.  3. 


XXXV. 

The  IncreduUty  of  TJiomas;  as  Overcome  in  liJce  manner  with  that 
of  Nathanael. 

John  XX.  24-29 ;  i.  48,  49. 

Through  the  week  following  our  Lord's  Resurrection, 
the  unbelieving  Thomas  had  been  saying  to  his  fellow- 
disciples,  "  Except  I  shall  sec  in  his  hands  the  print  of 
the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not 
believe."  Let  us  observe  how  this  extreme  incredulity 
was  overcome. 

Faith  in  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  was  not  for  the 
disciples  an  easy  matter.  Their  very  confidence  in  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus  prevented  them  from  regarding 
his  death  as  possible,  until  he  should  have  "restored 
again  the  kingdom  to  Israel."  They  did  not  interpret 
aright  his  predictions  concerning  his  death.  Perhaps 
they  attached  to  them  no  definite  meaning  whatever. 
Their  dominant  and  absorbing  feeling  led  them  to  an- 
ticipate with  confidence  his  triumph  over  all  opposition, 
in  the  speedy  establishment  of  his  kingdom.  AVhcn, 
unresisting  and  as  if  helpless,  he  was  arrested  before 
their  eyes,  bound  and  led  away,  and  then  shamefully 
put  to  death,  they  were  utterly  confounded.  In  the  sud- 
den prostration  of  their  hopes,  they  could  not  at  once 
think  that,  like  as  his  predictions  concerning  his  death 
had  now  received  a  literal  fulfillment,  so  might  they  an- 
18  -^  209 


210  HOURS   AMONG   THE   GOSPELS. 

ticipate  liis  literal  Resurrection.  All  was  dismay,  and 
the  dejection  of  deepest  despondency. 

Thus  none  of  them  credited  the  first  reports  from  the 
tomb.  Mary  Magdalene  "went  and  told  them  that 
had  been  with  him  as  they  mom-ned  and  wept.  And 
they,  when  they  had  heard  that  he  was  alive,  and  had 
been  seen  of  her,  believed  not."  The  company  of  women 
reported  the  same  things.  "  And  their  words  seemed 
to  them  as  idle  tales,  and  they  believed  not."  Not  until 
he  had  actually  appeared  to  one  of  their  own  number,  to 
Peter,  did  they  credit  the  joyful  intelligence. 

On  the  evening  following  the  Resurrection,  Jesus  ap- 
peared in  the  midst  of  the  company  of  the  Apostles,  and 
after  "  upbraiding  them  with  their  unbelief  and  hardness 
of  heart,"  showed  them  his  hands  and  his  feet,  and  ate 
before  them,  and  discoursed  to  them.  As  might  have 
been  exj^ected,  they  were  hereby  lifted  from  the  depths 
of  despondency  to  the  heights  of  joy.  ''  Then  were  the 
disciples  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord." 

From  this  meeting  of  the  Lord  with  his  Apostles, 
Thomas  was  absent.  Even  more  incredulous  than  his 
brother  discii^les,  he  probably  felt  an  indifference  to  what 
was  going  on.  He  treated  with  even  greater  contempt 
the  reports  concerning  the  Resurrection,  and  now  that 
his  Master  was  dead,  hoped  for  nothing  further.*  If, 
on  the  day  following  the  Resurrection,  he  had  been  in 
the  city  at  all,  perhaps,  like  the  two  disciples  going  to 
Emmaus,  he  had  left  it,  amidst  the  eventful  incidents 
raj)idly  occurring,  and  gone  to  his  abode  in  the  country. 

The  records   do  not  indeed  directly  charge  Thomas 

*■  For  an  admirable  discussion  of  tlie  character  of  Thomas,  and  of  his 
behaviour  at  this  juncture,  see  Dr.  Hanna's  "Forty  Days." 


THE    DOUBTER   CONVINCED.  iM  1 

with  guilty  neglect,  in  failing  to  be  present  with  liis  fcl- 
low-disoiplcs,  yet  thoy  strongly  imply  it.  The  giitlierliii^ 
of  a  deeper  cloud  upon  him,  in  whose  gloom  lie  wius  Icl't 
to  walk  for  many  days,  seems  like  an  intended  chastise- 
ment for  wilful  error. 

Xot  having  been  present,  "  the  other  disciples  thereloro 
said  unto  him,  We  have  seen  the  Lord."  Probably  they 
lost  no  time  in  making  this  joyful  communication.  Prob- 
ably they  fully  rehearsed  the  particulars  of  the  Master's 
interview.  Yet  so  deplorably  dark  had  become  the  mind 
of  Thomas,  this  explicit  testimony  of  the  whole  company 
of  his  fellow- Apostles  made  no  impression  upon  him, 
except  to  prompt  the  most  unreasonable  exactions  in 
order  to  his  faith.  They  had  been  permitted  to  look 
upon  the  Lord,  and  had  been  invited  to  handle  him,  that 
they  might  know  he  was  no  ghostly  apparition ;  and  now 
Thomas  declares  that  unless  he  has  the  same  opportunity, 
and  actually  avails  himself  of  it,  to  his  satisfaction,  he 
will  not  believe.  Incredulous  as  were  the  other  disciples, 
the  testimony  of  Peter  that  he  had  seen  the  Lord  ^^-as 
gladly  credited.  Thomas  persisted  in  his  unbelief  against 
such  testimony  multiplied  to  tenfold  strength.  If  they 
deserved  the  upbraidings  of  the  Master,  how  much  more 
richly  Thomas. 

Yet  he  was  a  true  disciple,  though  now  under  strong 
temptation.  The  Saviour  had  not  forgotten  him,  but 
doubtless  had  borne  him  tenderly  in  mind,  and  had 
prayed  for  him,  that  his  faith  might  not  utterly  faih 
And  the  Saviour  will  presently  bring  him  to  suitable 
feelings.  The  method  of  the  Lord's  procedure  herein  is 
highly  suggestive. 

He  leaves  iha  guilty  disciple  for  a  time  to  the  unhap- 


212  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

piness  which  he  has  wrought  for  himself.  Indeed 
Thomas  is  not  to  be  restored,  until  he  has  repented  of 
his  fault  in  absenting  himself  from  his  brother  Apostles 
and  has  returned  to  their  company.  I^ot  until  a  full 
week  has  elapsed,  and  they  are  assembled  again  much 
as  they  were  before,  does  Jesus  appear  to  them  and  to 
Thomas.  The  mode  of  his  entrance  among  them  is  again 
the  same,  tending  to  create  doubt  concerning  the  reality 
of  his  being  in  the  flesh.  He  does  not  condescend  to 
make  the  way  any  easier  for  Thomas'  reasoning  incredu- 
lity. 

This  interview  seems  to  have  been  granted  with  a 
special  view  to  the  restoration  of  the  erring  disciple;  for 
no  sooner  does  Jesus  appear  and  bestow  his  salutation, 
than  singling  him  out,  he  addresses  him.  And  how 
must  the  words  of  the  Master  have  thrilled  the  soul 
of  the  doubter !  He  hears  the  precise  language  of  his 
own  unbelief — that  which  he  has  been  repeating  to  him- 
self day  by  day,  and  with  which  he  has  obstinately  met 
the  arguments  and  representations  of  his  fellow-disciples. 
"  Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and 
behold  my  hands;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust 
it  into  my  side ;  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing." 

And  now  we  have  reached  the  point  of  our  special 
inquiries.  The  most  frequent  impression  with  Bible 
readers  appears  to  be,  that  upon  this  offer  of  our  Saviour, 
Thomas  proceeded  to  inspect  and  handle  the  person  of 
the  Master,  and  thereupon  came  to  faith.  Can  this  im- 
pression be  correct  ?  It  is  scarcely  possible.  Our  view 
of  the  procedure  of  our  Saviour,  so  long  as  we  retain 
this  impression,  is  shallow  and  unworthy.  Not  after 
this  fashion,  assuredly,  would  the  Saviour  gratify  and 


TJIE    DOUBTER    CON VINCKD.  ^I'-i 

lionoi  the  uiircasomible  aiul  even  wicked  cleiiuuids  oi  liis 
tempted  disciple. 

Both  the  narrative  itself,  and  the  analogy  of  our  Sav- 
iour's dealings  elsewhere,  suggest  a  dilierent  view^ 

Two  things  in  the  narrative  strongly  imply  that 
Thomas  did  not  accept  the  proposal  of  Jesu^,  but  was 
otherwise  brought  to  faith.  The  first  is  the  statement 
^vhich  Christ  afterward  makes.  He  says,  "  Thomas,  be- 
cause thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  believed."  Here  no 
further  help  to  fliith  of  an  outward  sort  is  recognized, 
than  simply  the  visible  presence  of  the  Saviour.  The 
second  is  the  evidently  instantaneous  recognition  by 
Thomas,  at  the  very  words  of  the  Master,  not  only  of 
the  identity  of  Jesus  and  the  reality  of  his  Resurrection, 
but  of  his  absolute  Divinity,  This  seems  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  impression  so  commonly  entertained.* 

From  the  teachings  of  the  passage  itself,  we  cannot 
but  think  that  Thomas  was  brought  to  faith  on  this  wise. 
Probably  before  this  interview  he  had  begun  to  see  the 
unsuitableness  of  his  demands,  and  secretly  to  regret 
that  he  had  insisted  on  them.  His  relentings  had  been 
such  as  to  bring  him  back  to  the  company  of  his  brethren. 
And  now,  in  the  presence  of  the  Saviour,  whom  he  finds 

*  It  is  with  surprise  that  we  find  Ellicott  thus  writing,  "  Wo  mark 
with  adoring  wonder,  how  the  personal  test  which  the  Apostle  had  re- 
quired, was  now  vouchsafed  to  him."  And  again,  '•  With  his  hands  on 
the  sacred  wounds,  with  evidence  most  distinct  that  lie  whom  he  was  per- 
mitted to  touch  was  man,  the  convinced  disciple,  in  terms  the  most  ex- 
plicit, declares  him  to  he  God." 

How  much  more  satisfactory  Bishop  Hall— "I  do  not  hear  that  when 
it  came  to  the  issue,  Thomas  employed  his  hands  in  this  trial :  his  eyes 
were  now  sufficient  assurance:  the  sense  of  his  Master's  omniscience,  in  this 
particular  challenge  of  him,  spared,  perhaps,  the  labor  of  a  further  dis- 
quisition." 


214  HOURS   AMONG   THE    GOSPELS. 

to  have  been  conversant  with  his  unbelieving  thoughts, 
akhough  uninformed  of  them  from  any  human  source ; 
whom  he  finds  to  have  been  reading  his  heart  with  om- 
niscient eye,  and  to  have  been  sorrowfully  watching  over 
him  in  all  his  wayward  and  guilty  course ;  the  conviction 
flashes  on  his  soul,  that  it  is,  it  can  be,  none  other  than 
his  gracious  Master,  not  only  risen  from  the  dead,  but 
clothed  with  every  attribute  of  Divinity.  And  prostrat- 
ing himself,  he  utters  the  cry  of  adoring  faith,  "  My 
Lord,  and  my  God !" 

The  most  striking  analogy  to  the  case  of  Thomas,  is 
that  afforded  by  Xathanael.  And  in  that  instance,  be 
it  observed,  it  is  evidently  the  sudden  and  resistless  con- 
viction of  the  omniscience  of  Jesus,  which  is  followed  by 
instant  and  implicit  faith. 

Nathanael  was  disposed  to  doubt.  When  Philip  an- 
nounces to  him  the  happy  tidings,  "We  have  found  him 
of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and  the  prophets  did  write, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  son  of  Joseph,"  JsTathanael  is  all 
incredulous.  He  responds,  "  Can  there  any  good  thing 
come  out  of  Nazareth  ?"  Yet  going  with  his  friend,  he 
soon  finds  that  Jesus  has  some  correct  idea  of  his  char- 
acter. Jesus  pronounces  him  "an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  is  no  guile,"  and  then,  at  the  question  of  Na- 
thanael,  "  Whence  knowest  thou  me  ?"  gives  Xathanael 
to  understand  that  he  knows  all  things,  that  his  omnis- 
cient eye  had  been  watching  him  in  the  secret  place  of 
wrestling  prayer  under  the  fig-tree;  whereupon  Na- 
thanael  exclaims,  in  the  fulness  of  his  unhesitating  faith, 
"  Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God ;  thou  art  the  king  of 
Israel." 

Jesus  approves  the  faith  of  Thomas ;  yet  as  it  was  a 


THE  DOUHTKR  CONVINCED.  215 

faith  which  nealed  to  be  helped  into  cxLTci.se  l)y  llio 
pei-sonal  presence  and  address  of  Jesus,  he  dispanijres  it 
in  comparison  with  a  more  ready  and  unquestioning; 
faith,  which  would  not  reject  the  testimony  of  otliers. 
"Thomas,  beciiuse  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  be- 
lieved; blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen  and  yet  lui\  <• 
believed." 

Our  Saviour's  treatment  of  Thomas  accords  witli  the 
Divine  dealings  with  men  generally,  in  the  province  of 
spiritual     matters.      Those   who   entertain   speculative 
doubts  concerning  religion,  are  not  commonly  brought 
to  true  faith,  by  having  their  arguments  of  unbelief  gone 
over  in  detail  and  refuted.     These  are  commonly  left  to 
stand  in  full  force.     Yet  they  no  longer  have  power,  or 
are  even  remembered,  when  the  Spirit  of  God  has  made 
known  the  Divine  adaptations  of  the  gospel  to  the  deep 
needs  of  the  soul.     These  doubts  all  vanish  of  them- 
selves, like  ghosts  to  their  graves  before  the  morning 
sun. 

We  close  these  studies  in  the  gospels,  listening  to  the 
benediction  of  the  Master  upon  those  who  "have  not 
seen  and  yet  have  believed,"  a  benediction  freighted 
with  encouragement  to  us,  who  live  between  his  first 
and  his  second  appearings,  and  who  in  reference  to  the 
past  and  the  future  can  humbly  say,  "Whom  not  having 
seen  we  love;  in  whom,  though  now  we  see  him  not, 
yet  believing,  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable,  and  full 
of  glory." 


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